Ultimate Kekkei Genkai: The Jagan
by M2J MandalorianJedi
Summary: During the fight with Haku, Sasuke wasn't the only one to awaken a Bloodline Limit. How will this affect the Narutoverse? Pairings undecided.
1. Opening The Eye

**Chapter One: Opening the Eye**

Two boys stood in the center of a dome of mirrors made of ice.

The first had black hair and wore a blue shirt and khaki shorts. He had red eyes as a result of his newly awakened blood limit, the Sharingan. He had two tomoe in his right eye and one in his left. As a result, he was now able to catch glimpses of his opponent as he passed above them above their heads.

He skillfully dodged, volley after volley of senbon needles, though with each attack two or three would strike him in various places all over his body.

He was the pride of Konoha, the last prodigy of the once almighty Uchiha Clan.

His name, Uchiha Sasuke.

The second boy had bright blonde hair, vivid sapphire eyes and wore an orange jumpsuit. He wasn't fairing nearly as well as his teammate. He also had three whisker like birthmarks on each cheek.

While he did his best to dodge the senbon, he was not agile enough, nor could he see the minute needles unlike his partner. He was lucky if two or three senbon from each attack _missed_ him.

He was the Bane of Konoha, as well as its number one, hyperactive, unpredictable, knuckle headed ninja. He was the Legacy of the Yondaime Hokage, the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

His name, Uzumaki Naruto.

Their opponent was incredibly fast. Sasuke was barely faster than the nukenin under normal circumstances. Within the dome of ice mirrors he created, Zabuza's perfect tool was too much for them, even combined. Seeing a moment of weakness, the nukenin concentrated his attack on Naruto. What happened next surprised both boys even more than the sudden shift in their foe's attack.

Naruto could only helplessly watch as the needles came closer and closer two him. Strange as everything suddenly started to become clearer. If events hadn't progressed as they did, he might have just dismissed it as his own acceptance of his fate. However, fate decided to intervene, not once... But twice.

Before he knew it, he was on the ground, knocked off his feet by his teammate, Sasuke, who now looked like a human pincushion.

"W-Why?" asked a very shocked Naruto.

Sasuke had an equally shocked look on his face. "I don't know... My body... Just moved... On its own..." It was all he could manage to get out before collapsing on the ground.

"Sasuke!" Naruto gasped. The raven haired teen looked up at his blonde teammate. His eyes had gone back to their original onyx color.

"That man... My brother... I told myself I wouldn't die until I killed him..." Sasuke whispered to him. "You... Don't die..." Sasuke's eyes closed for a final time, his entire body had gone slack.

Naruto closed his eyes, trying to hold back the pain. A myriad of emotions ran through his mind. Sadness at the loss of a friend, disappointment in his own weakness, frustration at not being able to defeat their opponent. So many emotions at one time, all ready to burst at any moment.

"He protected a precious person, while knowing it was a trap, and he still decided to jump in. He was a shinobi that deserved respect." said the masked boy. "Is this the first time a friend of yours has died? This is the way of the shinobi..."

"Shut up..." was all Naruto whispered. Power, raw untamed power coursed through his veins. First it manifested in a fiery red spiral. The red chakra was fierce, angry... Filled with more malice and hatred than even Zabuza had ever felt and that Kakashi had only felt once before.

* * *

'The seal...' thought Kakashi, 'Has it been broken?'

'That power... No... It's not Kakashi...' was the thought that ran through Zabuza's head.

* * *

Meanwhile, the masked boy watched in horror and bewilderment. Naruto looked directly at him, his vivid blue eyes were now red with untamed fury and the pupils were slitted. "I'll rip you apart!"

'That chakra... It's impossible... Chakra can't change like this...' the masked boy thought, he was frozen in terror at the radical change Naruto was going through. 'And such an evil chakra...'

The red chakra formed a fox above Naruto. The senbon needles that had penetrated various points in his body suddenly shot out of his body, which was shaking in unbridled rage. Suddenly, the wounds all over his body began to heal before the masked boy's eyes. 'His wounds... They're healing... This boy... What is he?' It was what happened next that solidified Naruto's reputation as Konoha's number 1, unpredictable, knuckled-headed, ninja.

Naruto's hitai-ite fell off of his head as the sinister red fiery chakra became black and cold, yet the black flames seemed to sting with more intensity than the red ones. Even though the chakra had changed again, the whisker marks that had become thicker and more defined had not receded, and his eyes were still blood red and slitted.

* * *

Kakashi and Zabuza stood rooted in each of their respective areas.

Sakura, and even Tazuna, cringed at the changes in the chakra that saturated the air around them. It was incredibly strong. The fact that Tazuna could feel it was a testament to that fact.

* * *

Sakura was frightened. She had no clue as to what was going on. She couldn't see anyone through the mist, she could barely see Tazuna and he was right next to her. The foreign chakra was far stronger than anything she'd ever felt, it far surpassed anything she had ever felt from either Kakashi-sensei or even Sasuke-kun combined. She was also unsettled by the fluctuations of the feelings the chakra gave off. It could only be felt a little at first. Desperation, fear, hopelessness, and then hate, anger, malice. The feelings came with such intensity that she could almost taste the killing intent in the air. As frightened as she was of it, she was glad that whatever the source, it was not directed at her.

However, now the feelings had changed. The hate and anger were still there, but it was more controlled, more lethal and deadly. The killing intent was more focused and no longer felt as it was going to consume everything in the area, however it was still as strong, if not stronger, than it had been a few moments ago.

* * *

Kakashi's reaction was much different than Sakura's. When he felt the familiar killing intent, he immediately had flashbacks of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's attack on Konoha twelve years ago. He had felt the immediate need to deal with Zabuza quickly so that he could deal with whatever it was that had happened to Naruto.

Now though, he could only feel bewildered at the familiar feeling the chakra had given off.

"I-it can't be..." Kakashi said looking over in the direction that he felt Naruto's chakra coming from. "Impossible..."

"One of your students is doing something they shouldn't be able to, eh, Kakashi?" said Zabuza with some amusement in his voice.

"Na-Naruto... Naruto just awakened a kekkei genkai thought to have been wiped out twelve years ago..." said Kakashi, not even bothering to hide his astonishment.

"Oh and you think it would be enough for him to defeat Haku?" asked Zabuza in a half amused, half disbelieving tone.

"Due to his... more unique... circumstances, I'd be willing to bet that he'd be able to defeat both of us if he could effectively use it's power..." said Kakashi.

"Oh and what could actually give him the power to do that?" asked Zabuza. Although he was curious to know what could cause Kakashi's reaction, he couldn't help but think the Copycat Nin was overstating his student's abilities. Then again, Haku took a vested interest in Uzumaki, while the Uchiha hardly caught his attention at all.

"The Jagan," was Kakashi's simple reply. Two simple words even made Zabuza start having second thoughts about the annoying and overly loud blonde ninja.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked his opponent. The Jagan was famous, feared and above all, respected, even by those belonging to the Seven Swordsman of the Mist.

"I've only felt chakra like that in the presence of one other person, and it was as unforgettable then as it is now..." explained Kakashi, "But my sensei never had any other family. He was the only one with the Jagan in the village, meaning the only way Naruto could have it..." Kakashi's eyes widened at the revelation.

* * *

Haku watched as the boy in front of him stood up. The menacing aura retreated inside of him, but the killing intent was still thick in the air. It was then when Haku saw it. Naruto's spiky blonde hair began to stand straight up in the front, no longer covering his forehead. Then what appeared to be a slit across it appeared and began to slightly glow. The teal glow became more intense as it got wider. When the slit fully opened the glow subsided revealing a third eye much like Naruto's normal two. It was sapphire blue in color, although it was slightly slitted.

"You... Will... Pay..." he said to the masked nin, still shaking with fury. "I'll kill you!" Haku took the moment to step back into his mirrors.

'This sudden burst of power... The lust for battle and blood... He is no longer the same boy I fought before...' Haku thought to himself. Suddenly, a huge shockwave of power was released by Naruto.

'He's coming...' Haku thought as Naruto prepared to charge. He sent a small barrage of senbon at the charging boy only to have them harmlessly batted away by the boy's immense power. He barely was able to jump away from the mirror as Naruto shattered in with a simple punch.

Haku's visage suddenly appeared in all of the mirrors at once. He was astonished at the boy's new found speed and even more amazed that his last attack was merely blasted away without a mere thought.

As one, all of the mirrors attacked. The senbon imbedded themselves deeply into Naruto. His third eye began to glow brightly again and the red chakra from before seemed to surround him. Releasing his new found power, Naruto forced the needles from his body, his wounds instantly healing. The sheer power Naruto was putting out was enough to crack the mirror Haku was in. He immediately charged.

A second mirror shattered as Naruto's fist made contact. Haku had jumped from the mirror to one above the jinchuuriki, only to charge at his three-eyed opponent. Naruto seemed to anticipate this and jumped away. He then charged at Haku. The masked boy could barely keep up with the barrage of fists coming at him. Finally Haku managed to score a hit with a spinning kick to Naruto's stomach sending him back a few feet. Haku jumped into a mirror, but had to vacate immediately as Naruto's foot came crashing through. As Haku entered another mirror, he saw Naruto going through a short and unfamiliar combination of hand seals. "Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi (Hell Fire Release: Fist of the Mortal Flame)!"

When the sequence was completed, Naruto brought his fist back as it exploded in orange and black flames. Thrusting his fist forward he launched the strange fire ball at Haku.

It was only basic survival instinct that told Haku to move out of the way, as the mirror he had just been in was completely melted upon contact. The fact the fireball was not stopped by his mirror did not go unnoticed by the ice manipulator. However, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him, the boy's third eye keeping up a blinding glow.

Haku drew a few senbon and threw them at the orange clad ninja in hopes of removing the boy from his path. Unfortunately for Haku, his opponent seemed to phase out for a moment, the senbon seemingly flying through him. He gasped in surprise, 'Fast...' was his only though when Naruto grabbed his wrist.

Before Haku could retaliate, another shockwave of power was released by Naruto. 'Zabuza-san... I'm sorry... But I can not stand up to his powers...' he thought as Naruto started running through one handed seals like Haku had before. Then, his entire arm seemed to burst out in orange and black flames.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" Naruto yelled as he smashed his flaming fist into Haku, who was sent careening through a mirror. As he hit the ground, he bounced five times before landing in a disgruntled heap.

* * *

'Th-that power... Surely Naruto can't...' Thought Sakura as she heard Naruto's yell. 'Sasuke-kun... please be alright...' She became even more worried when the strange chakra suddenly vanished.

* * *

Haku tried to stand, but found he couldn't. He no longer had the energy to do so. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto approaching, the eye in the middle of his forehead glowing with great intensity. 'I... I can not compete with him...'

Their eyes met and Naruto froze, shock evident on his face, his third eye even quit glowing. His blood red, demonic eyes became sapphire colored once again.

"Y-You...!" It was then Haku realized the boy's shock. His mask had been completely shattered, and possibly incinerated, in that last attack. "You're that guy from before!" Images of their meeting in the forest flashed through Naruto's mind.

"Why did you stop? I killed an important friend of yours, why can't you kill me?" Haku asked calmly. Naruto took a glance back at the now shattered mirrors where Sasuke still lay. He closed his eyes, the Jagan still focused on Haku.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he kicked Haku in the stomach. The boy only gave a small groan in protest, as he rolled a short distance away from Naruto.

Haku spit up some blood as he tried to stand. This time he was successful, but he could barely do so. "Where did all of that power of yours go? You can't defeat me like that... Was he not an important person to you?" Naruto's emotions were all over the place. He wasn't sure what to think or feel. His mind kept going back to all of the things Haku had said to him before Sasuke had been killed. He was brought back into the present what Haku spoke up once more.

"There are those who have the wrong idea. They fail to defeat an enemy that needs to be defeated, they show mercy instead, and decide not to take his life... If you ask me, doing something like that is not showing mercy... Do you know the pain of living without a dream? Knowing your not needed by anyone?"

"W-What are you trying to say?" Naruto asked Haku, knowing deep in his own heart, he already knew and understood what the boy was talking about. He felt though, that he should ask, to acknowledge what the boy was going to tell him.

"Zabuza-san does not need a weak ninja. You stole my reason to exist." Haku explained.

Naruto had a pained expression on his face. "Why? Why do you fight for that guy? He gets money from bad guys... And does evil things...is that no-brow freak the _ONLY_ important person you have?" His fists were now clenched and his eyes, with the exception of the Jagan, were shut tightly.

"I had people who were important to me a long time ago," Haku clarified, "My parents..."

He sighed at the painful memories, "I was born in the Country of Water, where the snow piled up deep. All we did was farm and we were poor, but my mother and my father were happy with it. I was happy. They were really kind parents. But... When I first took notice of my surroundings... Something happened..." Haku looked on sadly. He needed the boy, this... Uzumaki Naruto... To understand.

"Something...? What happened?" asked Naruto, intrigued by the boy's tale.

Haku raised his hand. It still had the blood he coughed up on it. "This... this blood..." was all he said.

"Blood...?" Naruto was very confused by the change in subject. "So... So what happened?"

"My father killed my mother and then... Had tried to kill me..."

"Wh-what?!"

Haku then explained the Water Countries eradication of those who possessed a kekkei genkai, or Bloodline Limit, and the significance of having one.

"After the wars, those families hid their abilities and lived on because only death awaited them if their secret was revealed. That boy..." he said pointing to Sasuke, "As well as yourself probably have had a tough times as well. Those who possess a special ability are feared by everyone. My mother possessed such a Bloodline Limit. She had kept it a secret and married my father. She must have believed that an ordinary life would continue for a while... If not forever..."

Haku remembered when his powers first manifested. "Father... Found out our secret..." Haku's eyes became distant, as if he was reliving the painful memories. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if his own parents were still around, if they would have tried to kill him for having Kyuubi inside of him, like Haku's father tried to kill him for having a special ability.

"When I had came to, I realized I had killed my own father..." Haku said in an even voice. "At the time I thought of myself as... No I _had_ to think of myself as being..." Haku paused for a moment, "I realized that _that_ was the most painful thing one could feel."

"The most painful thing one could feel?" asked Naruto thinking he already knew the answer. He had to know the boy's answer, if only for confirmation. The lost look in Haku's eyes merely confirmed the conviction and truth behind his words. It pained Naruto to see such a look mirrored in the eyes of another.

"The feeling you are not needed by anyone in this world..."

It was all it took to send a jolt straight into the core of Naruto's spirit. 'He's the same... as me...'

"You said to me, 'I want to become the number one ninja in my village and make everyone recognize me!' When someone accepts you from the bottom of their heart appears... That person should become the most important person to you. Zabuza-san _knew_ I was from a family with a kekkei genkai and raised me... He wanted this ability that everyone hated..." Tears formed at the corners of his eyes as he remembered when he met Zabuza, the man who had saved him. The man who had given him a purpose. "I was happy..." For a minute a happy expression came to Haku's face before becoming downcast again.

"I'm sorry Zabuza-san... I couldn't become the tool you wanted me to become..." he whispered and then he walked towards Naruto. "Naruto-kun... Please... Kill me..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Zabuza were still at their stand off. Each passing moment since the energy receded, Kakashi had become increasingly worried. He did not know whether or not Naruto had succeeded or not in taking down Haku. The sounds of battle had faded a while ago and he did not know whether or not Sasuke and Naruto were alright.

"Seems like your boy has run out of steam Kakashi," Zabuza taunted.

"Zabuza... Let's finish this! One move to decide it all," Kakashi said with confidence, though in truth he was scared that he had let down yet another teammate. He then pulled out a scroll and with some quick movements, unrolled it and twirled it around. Using a sharp point on his jounin vest, he pricked his finger and smeared blood over the seals on the scroll before rolling it back up. He still held it in his hands as the did three hand seals. "Ninpou Kuchiyose Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu! _(Ninja Art, Summoning Move, Earth Release: Dogging Fangs Technique)_" He then set scroll on the ground, his hands still clasped to it.

Zabuza felt the chakra surging from Kakashi. When nothing happened he figured that Kakashi's technique had failed. "Whatever you do, it's pointless. You can't even feel my presence at all." The Demon of the Bloody Mist's voice echoed from every direction, taunting Kakashi. "But... I know what you are doing very well, Kakashi... You have fallen into my trap completely..." It was then that several dogs burst from the ground attacking Zabuza.

* * *

Sakura and Tazuna could hear the growling from where they were at. "Wh-what is that sound?" asked a freaked out bridge builder.

"What's going on...?" Sakura asked herself. Both were feeling very uneasy considering they had practically be left in the dark and unable to tell what was going on in either battle being fought around them.

* * *

"If I can't follow you with my eyes or ears, I'll just have to use my nose," said Kakashi calmly as if lecturing a small child. "That's what happens when you close your eyes in the mist. This is a summoning technique for pursuing purposes. I stopped your attacks two times, and bled both of those times for this purpose. Your weapons have my scent on them. Those are my cute ninja dogs, and their noses work better than any other dog's. You're the one who has fallen into the trap. The mist has cleared. Your future is death."

"I don't care about your bluffs." said Zabuza defiantly. Kakashi was right, the mists were clearing, and Zabuza was just feet away from Kakashi and held in place by several of Kakashi's summons.

"Don't act so tough. There is nothing you can do in this situation," scolded Kakashi. "Your death is certain. Zabuza you fooled around too much. Your ambitions were too big. You failed in the assassination of the Mizukage and the coup d'etat. You ran away with a few of your subordinates and became exiled ninja. Your name was given to the village of Konoha immediately. In order to gather money for retaliation and to avoid the prosecution from the pursuing ninjas you sided with vermin like Gatou." He said the last word as if it tasted bad in his mouth. "Zabuza, do you really think I have survived all this time with just the Sharingan? I'll show you my original technique. It is not a copy."

Kakashi did three hand seals and then griped his right wrist with his left hand. Chakra began to gather around his feet when bolts of electricity surged from the ground into his right hand.

"Raikiri (_Lightning Edge_)!" he shouted.

"What the... I... I can see the chakra in his hands..." said Zabuza astonished at the power and level of control that Hatake Kakashi, the Copycat Nin, possessed.

"You're too dangerous. The person you are trying to kill, Tazuna-san, is this countries courage. The bridge he is trying to create is this country's hope. Your ambition sacrifices too many people. That's _NOT_ what a ninja is supposed to do."

Kakashi could see the smirk appear on Zabuza's face through the mask. "Who cares? _I_ have fought for my ideal. And that won't change in the future either."

"I'll say this again... Give up." ordered Kakashi, the lightning surging in his right palm, his normally lazy, calm and expressionless face was now fiercely glaring at his foe. "Your future is death."

* * *

"Please kill me..." pleaded Haku. Worry and indecision had frozen Naruto in place. "Why are you hesitating?" With each passing moment Naruto felt his resolve crumble.

"I can't believe that stupid story!" he shouted defiantly, as he took several steps away from Haku, "Weapon?! Tool?! You call a person like _that_ an important person!? You're okay with that?!"

"Is it wrong?" the sad neutral expression never leaving Haku's face.

"What...?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"But... That's..."

"Zabuza-san had hopes for me... He needed me...But... I have lost the purpose that made me... Me... Zabuza-san will no longer need me." As Haku continued speaking Naruto could feel his resolve crumbling, his heartbreaking, "_That_ is why I am asking you... Now, hurry... Naruto-kun... Please kill me..."

"I... I don't understand! Is staying strong the only reason you have for staying on this world?!" Naruto tried to reason with the boy. "You could have made people recognize you through something other than fighting!"

A small smile graced Haku's face. "The day I met you in the forest, I felt you were like me. You should understand." The look in Naruto's eyes gave away to Haku that he did. "I'm sorry I have to soil your hands."

"Is that... Is that... The only way...?"

"Yes."

Naruto looked down. His eyes were clenched tight, even his newly awakened Jagan Eye. "If I had met you somewhere else, we might have been friends..." He then opened his eyes, his resolve hardened. He charged towards Haku, his right hand going to his kunai pouch.

"Grab hold of your dream."

'Sasuke had a dream too...' Naruto rationalized in his mind as he ran faster towards Haku, his kunai in his hand.

Haku closed his eyes. 'Thank you... You will become strong...' he silently thanked Naruto.

* * *

"The mist... It's beginning to settle!" exclaimed Tazuna.

"There are two people over there. It looks like they're staring at each other..." said Sakura

"I can't see very well..."

"Which one is Kakashi-sensei?" she asked "One of them moved!"

* * *

Haku caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He then grabbed a hold of Naruto's wrist before he could strike the killing blow. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun..." he apologized while doing a few one handed seals. "But I can't die just yet..." It was then that Naruto saw what Haku did after the ice manipulator vanished.

* * *

Kakashi charged at Zabuza with a fully charged Raikiri.

"So... This is it, huh?" Zabuza asked to himself.

Suddenly a crack in the bridge opened up, releasing large amounts of frozen air. A mirror of Ice suddenly formed and out stepped Haku right into the path of Kakashi's charged palm. Before Kakashi could reach Haku and Zabuza, Naruto materialized and knocked Haku through yet another mirror, placing himself in front of Zabuza, his Jagan blazing.

"Naruto-kun!" yelled Haku.

'Naruto!' thought Kakashi as he knew what was about to happen. He couldn't stop... It was too late.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!"

* * *

A powerful shockwave hit Sakura and Tazuna. They had to cover their eyes to protect themselves from the dust and debris from the fights on the bridge.

"What happened!?" asked Tazuna.

"I-impossible!" shouted Sakura as the figures became visible.

Kakashi's Raikiri was being blocked by Naruto, whose arm was completely engulfed in black and orange flames, the sleeve of the jacket had been incinerated. Kakashi was staring right into the Jagan. While Zabuza was being held fast by half a dozen dogs. Suddenly, Naruto shoved Kakashi's attack away from himself and hit the jounin in the chest with a powerful palm strike to the sternum. The blow knocked Kakashi back, but he was able to stay on his feet.

Everyone had been so shocked by the turn of events they were speechless. "N-naruto!" Kakashi yelled after a few moments of speechlessness. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I-I couldn't let you... Zabuza maybe... But not... Not Haku..." he ,like the others, was in complete shock.

* * *

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered.

"Incredible..." Tazuna said in bewilderment.

Suddenly Sakura's eyes widened in realization. "Naruto! You're alright! Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto kept silent, but then he looked away from her. He couldn't face her. Sakura's eyes then widened again, tears threatening to spill forth. There was a lost look in her eyes. "Sasuke..."

"I'll go too," Tazuna whispered to the distraught kunoichi. "That way you don't have to break your teacher's orders."

"O-okay..." she answered as they both ran towards where Sasuke and Naruto had been fighting Haku originally.

* * *

'Sakura...' Kakashi thought. Zabuza used the distraction to free himself from the dogs.

"You don't have time to look away Kakashi!" Exclaimed Zabuza drawing his sword and swinging it at Naruto.

Naruto was caught off guard and had no time to dodge, when suddenly he found himself tackled to the ground. Zabuza's sword sliced through nothing but air.

"Haku!" exclaimed a very surprised Zabuza.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tazuna and Sakura had reached Sasuke's body. Seeing him lying their lifelessly, Sakura gasped. Tazuna didn't know the kid very well, but he liked him enough. He also knew how much the girl adored the dark haired boy. The look in her eyes was the same as his daughter's after Kaiza had been killed by Gatou and his men. She collapsed to her knees and felt his face. Her worst fears had just been confirmed.

"He's cold... This isn't an illusion... huh?" she asked quietly.

"You don't have to hold back because I'm here," he assured her. "You should just cry at a time like this."

"I... Always got 100's on all of the tests at the academy..."

"Huh?" Tazuna raised an eyebrow in genuine confusion. But Sakura just continued on.

"I memorized more than 100 ideas of the Shinobi Code and I always wrote the answers down proudly... One day there was this problem on a test... 'Answer the 25th clause of the Shinobi Code.' And I wrote down that answer as usual..." Try as she might to hold them back the tears came anyway. "A ninja must not show any emotion in any situation. A ninja must put the mission first and not have a heart that will allow him to cry..." She began to cry into Sasuke's chest.

"This... This is what a ninja is..." Tazuna whispered to himself. "It's too cruel..."

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura sobbed, before letting out a loud wail. One that tore a gaping hole into Naruto's heart nearby as he closed all three eyes from severe exhaustion. He was vaguely aware of being caught by Haku before he hit the ground.

* * *

It was near dawn when he opened his eyes again. He let out a small groan, and slowly sat up. "I've never felt this weak before..." he said a loud to himself as he placed a hand on his head.

"It's probably a side affect of awakening your kekkei genkai," said Kakashi who was leaning against the wall.

"What... what happened?" he asked. "Is... is everyone alright?" Naruto was hopeful, he already knew the answer, but he needed confirmation. Perhaps, if he just wished hard enough... It had just been a nightmare. "Wait... What do you mean kekkei genkai? One of those blood things like Haku has?"

"One thing at a time..." answered Kakashi, "Everyone is alright, even Sasuke..."

"Sasuke is alive!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. Kakashi nodded and Naruto gave him a fox-like grin.

"Zabuza was killed though... By Gatou's thugs when he showed up after Zabuza killed Gatou," Kakashi informed him.

"But... Why?" Naruto asked.

"Apparently Gatou had made a habit of hiring missing nins. Then when it comes time to pay them, he killed them if they hadn't already died on the mission he hired them for." Kakashi told him.

"What about Haku?" asked Naruto.

"He took Zabuza's death pretty hard, but he is alright for the most part. He hasn't left your room since you were brought here. He'll becoming back with us to Konoha when we leave." He looked over to Haku when he spoke. The boy in question was fast asleep in is chair.

Naruto sighed in relief. "That's good I suppose. Now what about my blood thingy?"

Kakashi couldn't help but smirk. While Naruto did have a serious side that was seen by almost no one, he was still the same knuckle-head with a one track mind at the end of the day. "It's pretty rare. In fact, at the time of the Kyuubi attack there was only one known person who had it, and I have reason to believe he was your father."

"W-what... But that means..." Naruto's eyes got wide with excitement until everything Kakashi said, "My family died in the attack..."

"I still have to check with the Sandaime to be sure, but _IF_ I am not mistaken, I am the perfect person to teach both you and Sasuke in Konoha, at the moment," said Kakashi.

"Why is that?" asked Naruto.

"In Sasuke's case it's because we both have the Sharingan, and in yours... The man I believe who is your father... Was also my sensei..." Kakashi said.

Naruto's eyes widened again, the excitement that he might find out a little bit about his family was too great. "Y-your sensei?! W-who was it?!"

"Kazama Arashi... The Yondaime Hokage..." said Kakashi reluctantly.

"Y-Yondaime... That means... He..." Naruto couldn't let himself finish the sentence, Kakashi merely nodded in response. "W-Why...? Why me?"

Kakashi sighed. He really couldn't blame the kid. To find out only a few weeks ago you had a demon inside of you and then that it was your own father who had sealed it there would be too much for anyone. He had to help the boy understand. "Think about it Naruto. What does it mean to be Hokage? In his place, would you be able to ask some other family to sacrifice their child, if you saw a chance where your own child could be seen as a hero." Naruto went to interrupt. "I know that didn't happen, but that is what Sensei had intended."

Naruto was silent for a few moments. "I think... I think I understand..."

"Now do you want to learn about your Bloodline Limit?" asked Kakashi. Naruto said nothing but nodded. "As I said before, it's rare. In fact, you are the second person known to have had it. Yondaime, like you, was an orphan. He had no other family. He was found in the wilderness by a group of our ninja and brought back to the village. It wasn't long after and he attended and graduated the academy. Soon afterwards he became a Genin and awakened his Bloodline Limit. He was able to develop it with the help of his sensei. It's called the Jagan."

"What does it do?" asked Naruto.

"Well, when it's activated, a third eye appears on your forehead," Kakashi had to stifle a small chuckle as Naruto felt his forehead. "Not even Yondaime was completely certain of it's full potential. But what we did know about it, or rather, what he told me about it, it helped with his chakra control and could sometimes give him boosts of power... like what happened to you on the bridge. It can even slow down an enemies movements based on your own reaction time. It can also give you access to a few techniques that can only be used by you because of the eye. That means not even the Sharingan can copy those techniques."

"Wow..." was all Naruto could say.

"I'll let you alone for now, but we'll have to talk to the Sandaime-sama about whether or not Yondaime was actually your father. Either way, I have something for you that will complement the changes in your fighting style with the eye. I'm sure Yondaime would have wanted you to have it under the circumstances, whether you're his son or not." Kakashi informed him as he was leaving the room.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto said with a small smile on his face.

"One more thing Naruto..." Kakashi paused at the door, "The Jagan seems to have a mind of it's own. While in a sense you can control it and is a part of you... It is also sentient and separate from you. It's very prideful and demands respect. All of Yondaime's opponents who insulted the eye, all died." He then left Naruto to his thoughts. The boy had a lot to think about.


	2. Training the Eye, Secrets Revealed

_**A/N:**__ Not much action this chapter. This is pretty much a filler between the Wave Arc and the Chuunin Selection Exams. Also, some changes to important to later character development in Sakura and Sasuke. We will also see the introduction to Naruto's new look as well as the Konohamaru Corps. Naruto is easily my favorite character on the show and I can't help but smile at the way Konohamaru looks up and practically worships Naruto when everyone else treats him like dirt._

**

* * *

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**Chapter Two: Training the Eye, Secrets Revealed**

The Country of Wave had a spectacular celebration after Naruto woke. The entire populous was extremely happy with the downfall of Gatou, except two. While they didn't particularly care for Gatou, it was another person that was lost the day before that dampened their need to celebrate.

Haku stood out on the docks near Tazuna's house staring out at the ocean. He barely acknowledged Naruto's presence. No words were said, the two just sat in silence. When time for the celebrations came, Haku did not go with them, saying he needed time to himself. Naruto and Sasuke didn't stay long either, the former was concerned about his new friend, the latter wanted to get away from his fan-girl.

* * *

It was soon afterwards that the bridge was finished and it was time for Team 7 and Haku to leave. They made one last stop at Zabuza's grave, is sword sticking out of the ground as a sort of headstone. 

Haku burned some incense and Sakura placed flowers on his grave.

"I was wondering, Kakashi-sensei..." said Sakura, "Does a ninja really have to be what he said a ninja should be?" Haku was now looking at Kakashi in great interest.

"Shinobi are not supposed to seek their reason to exist..." Kakashi explained, "It's important that they exist as tools. That idea exists in Konoha too..." As he was speaking Sakura walked back towards the others. Haku looked towards Naruto who seemed to be at a crossroads. He was staring blankly over the cliff, a myriad of emotions passing over his face. After a silent moment he came to a decision as he spoke.

"Does becoming a _real_ ninja really mean that?" he asked. It was a simple enough question. One that Haku would have answered 'yes' to immediately only a few days before, yet the blonde boy in front of him made him question whether or not it was true. "I... I kind of... Don't like that..." he had an uncharacteristic frown on his face.

"Do you think so?" asked Sasuke to Kakashi.

"Well, no. That's why ninja unconsciously suffer from that idea," he answered, "Like Zabuza did."

Naruto stared back at the grave a moment longer, before speaking again. "All right! I'm going to follow my own nindo! I'm doing to run straight down the path where I am not going to regret anything!" He looked up into the sky as he was speaking, a small genuine smile graced his features. Kakashi looked surprised for a moment, but then gave him a small smile that was only visible but the small crinkling of his left eye, which was the only exposed area of his face. Haku also gave Naruto a small smile as well.

* * *

"We've completed the bridge thanks to you," said Tazuna, "We're going to miss you guys." 

"Be well," said Tsunami.

"Thank you for everything," said Kakashi.

"Don't worry, we'll visit you again one day," said Naruto cheerfully. He no longer wore his orange jacket because it had been irreparably damaged. So he just had on a black T-shirt with the red spiral design on the front and his orange pants. He also wore his hitai-ite around his neck. He didn't want it to become incinerated once he figured out how to call on the orange and black fire again nor did he want it to cover the Jagan.

Kakashi-sensei had told him that the orange and black flame was called the Mortal Flame. It burned hotter than any other flame and was often compared to lava from a volcano. To Kakashi's knowledge only the Yondaime was capable of using the Mortal Flame because of the Jagan. The Jagan also allowed The Konoha no Kiroi Senko (Konoha Yellow Flash) to use his ultimate technique, the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).

Naruto's smile faded a bit when he saw the look on Inari's face. "Inari... You're going to be lonely aren't you? You can cry you know..."

"I'm not going to cry, but you can Naruto!" Inari responded holding back tears.

"Is that so..." Naruto's face was a dam that was about to break, "See you later!" He turned around quickly, he wouldn't be the one to break. Even though he did his best, a few stray tears streamed down his face.

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Stubborn baka...'

_**

* * *

**_

The people of Wave Country watched as the five shinobi walked back towards Konoha.

"The boy changed Inari's heart and Inari changed the heart of the villagers... He created a bridge of courage, which led to hope..." Tazuna said.

"You know... speaking of bridges... We still have to name this one!" said one of the villagers.

"I forgot, but I've got the perfect name for the bridge!" Tazuna said.

"Oh, what is it?" asked another villager.

Tazuna focused his gaze on the retreating form of Naruto, "How about the 'The Great Naruto Bridge'?"

Tsunami giggled, "That's a good name for it..."

* * *

"All right! As soon as we get home I'm gonna have Iruka-sensei treat me to some ramen to celebrate the successful completion of our mission! Then I'm gonna make Konohamaru listen to my tale of bravery! Then I'll..." 

"Hey Sasuke-kun!?" interrupted Sakura, "Do you want to go on a date as soon as we get back to the village?"

"No," was his simple one worded answer, to which Naruto and Haku couldn't help but roll their eyes. Then Naruto decided to speak up.

"Hey, I'll go!" he offered cheerfully.

"Shut up and be quiet Naruto-baka!" snapped Sakura before hitting Naruto on the head. Haku slapped his own forehead at Naruto's hopeless crusade to get Sakura to notice him, much less win her heart...

_**

* * *

**_

The trip to Konoha was a few days longer than the trip to Wave. Without the worry of getting Tazuna to safety and Sasuke and Naruto's training it was understandable. Sasuke was working on activating his Sharingan at will and sustaining it. During the rigorous training he managed to get a second tomoe in his left eye. Naruto's training consisted of keeping the Jagan open and using it to help with his chakra control. During these sessions, Sakura would train with Haku, who trained her in some basic healing methods and techniques as well as some taijutsu to supplement what she had learned from the Konoha Ninja Academy.

"Naruto, what's with the eye of yours?" asked Sakura as she took a break from her training.

Naruto was standing in front of a large bonfire, trying to use the Jagan to control the fire, with minimal success. His hair was standing straight up and his Jagan was glowing a bright teal color and he currently was only wearing his orange jumpsuit pants. He didn't want anymore shirts to meet the same fate as a couple others had during their travels.

She could see the seal on Naruto's stomach dissipate as his chakra went back down to normal levels. When asked about it, Naruto evaded answering saying that is was just some sort of containment seal meant to help him control chakra. While Sasuke, Haku and Sakura would tell he was telling the truth (Naruto was a horrible liar), they could also tell he was leaving something out, as his smile would falter for a quick moment before he became loud and overly cheery. After thinking on it for some time, she realized that Naruto ALWAYS acted like that and she wondered just how much of the real Naruto anyone ever saw.

"It's a kekkei genkai, called the Jagan," he answered her, "It's a dojutsu like Sasuke-teme's Sharingan or the Hyuuga Clan Byakugan." He turned to her looking at her speculatively.

After finding out he had a Bloodline Limit, he had practically grilled Kakashi and Haku on everything they knew about other kekkei genkai that could be found in Konoha or anywhere else. Haku told him about his Hyoton (Ice Release) abilities, and Kakashi mentioned one that had once been found in Konoha, and used by the Shodaime Hokage, called Mokuton (Wood Release). He also compared the Jagan to both the Byakugan and the Sharingan. Kakashi then told Naruto rumors of an ability to manipulate bones called Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) which was thought to have been eradicated by Kiri. Of course the Hyoton kekkei genkai was also thought to have been whipped out, so there COULD be other unknown survivors of the Bloodline Limit Extermination that took place all those years ago, though it was highly unlikely. Not much was really known about it since the massacre had happened a decade prior and Kiri had all records of their native kekkei genkais destroyed.

"Surely it can't be as g..." Kakashi interrupted what Sakura had been about to say by covering her mouth.

"Trust me Sakura, whatever you do, do NOT under any circumstances insult that eye, even unintentionally," he told her. The look in his exposed eye was enough to placate her anger, albeit temporarily. Even Sasuke and Haku looked curious about his reaction. "The origins of the Jagan are a mystery. Unlike the Byakugan or the Sharingan, it is not a kekkei genkai native to Konoha. In fact, it's so rare that there is only one other known sighting of the Jagan in all of the Elemental Countries. Other than the fact that the majority of the Jagan's abilities are unknown, even to those with the Bloodline, what really sets it apart from other dojutsu is the fact that it has a consciousness separate from the weilder. _EVERYONE_ I've seen insult the eye has died, no matter how much more powerful they were than the weilder."

"You said there was only one other person to possess the Jagan... And considering what you just said, it sounded like you knew that person, who were they?" asked Sakura, "I mean... We never learned of the Jagan in the academy... and..." she glanced quickly at Naruto and took a deep breath before continuing, "As far as anyone knows... Naruto... Doesn't have any family... What happened to them..." She was very hesitant to ask. After all, it was very hard to miss the glares that the townspeople sent at their blonde teammate. One would often think it was for all of the pranks the blond ninja had done in the past. However, with the emergence of a kekkei genkai, one had to wonder. If his family had some how dishonored Konoha... While she was curious, she didn't want to pry too far into other people's business.

Kakashi glanced quickly at Naruto, who's facial expression was wearing a very saddening frown. "After we get back... Kakashi-sensei and I have to talk to Ojii-san first... Afterwards, we'll tell you what we can..." He then turned and walked into the forest away from the campsite.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered.

"Don't worry Sakura, he just needs some time to himself..." Kakashi reassured her.

_**

* * *

**_

Naruto had been oddly quiet for the rest of the trip. So much that even Sakura was showing concern for her normally annoying blonde teammate over fawning over her beloved 'Sasuke-kun' much to the relief of everyone, especially Sasuke. Though he tried not to show it, even he was concerned about his team mate.

As they approached the gates, Naruto closed the Jagan and tied his hitai-ite back around his forehead. When questioned, he told them he hadn't wanted to reveal it to anyone yet before they had spoken with the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 reporting another mission successfully completed," said Kakashi.

"It's good to hear, although I must admit I got worried when our patrols picked up the Demon Brothers not too long ago," Sandaime said. "So tell me Kakashi, who is this?" Indicating Haku was the one he was asking about.

"This is Haku, he was Momochi Zabuza's apprentice, and wishes to become a Konoha shinobi," said Kakashi, "He has considerable skills with various flora and fauna in uses of medicine and with some training could make a good medic-nin as he has excellent chakra control from what I've seen. He also has a kekkei genkai that allows him to use Hyoton jutsus like the Shodaime could use Mokuton jutsu." Kakashi then took a steadying breath, "There is also one other thing to report..." he said with great hesitancy.

"Oh, and what would that be?" asked Sandaime with an interested look, worry evident as he caught the uncomfortable looks on Kakashi and Naruto's faces. "It's awakened hasn't it?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but Naruto's expression went from uncomfortable, to shocked, to anger, "You knew, didn't you!" he shouted angrily, "You knew all this time he was my father and you didn't tell me, even after..." Naruto closed his eyes tightly, and pulled the hitai-ite off of his head. Although his hair was now standing straight up the eye had not opened.

"You weren't supposed to know until absolutely necessary... Either until after you became of age, made Chuunin, or in case your kekkei genkai awakened," Sandaime said apologetically, "It was one of his final requests..."

"Just like I was to be seen as a hero?!" Naruto asked bitterly, "Like anyone really followed that request!"

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded him, only to have Naruto turn around and glare at her, the Jagan was glowing fiercely. The intensity of his glare was such that she flinched back instinctively. He had never even so much has gotten annoyed with her nor had he ever said anything bad about her. This look was completely out of character for him to direct at her and she had to admit that look was startling enough without making her constantly challenge everything she knew about Naruto.

"Tell me Sakura-chan... How would you like it if the man you looked up to more than anyone else, the one you respected above all others, was responsible for nearly every horrible thing that has ever happened to you?" asked Naruto angrily, "That even after all of that, you come to find out he was your own father..." He did not shout any of this, nor did he even sound angry. It was clear he was upset and there was a hint of fear and desperation in his voice, though one had to truly listen to catch it.

"Naruto, I assure you... Arashi only wanted the best for you. It pained him greatly to know that you would grow up alone..." said Sandaime. "But, you must understand, he made a great deal of enemies. You would have been in even greater had it been known that you were his son."

"Who's son?" asked Sakura.

"Naruto's father... Was also my sensei... Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage..." Kakashi informed them.

This brought shocked looks to Sasuke, Sakura and Haku.

"But... I don't... I don't understand..." Sakura said confusedly.

Naruto looked at them in sadness. He closed the Jagan and tied the hitai-ite back onto his head. "Go ahead and tell them everything... It's too much for me to deal with at the moment... Iruka-sensei or Konohamaru should know where to find me..." With that Naruto walked out the door in a sort of daze, a devastated look marred his face.

_**

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Naruto was walking along aimlessly through the streets of Konoha when a square 'rock' with eye holes began to follow him. He sighed, he really didn't feel up to this at the moment, but Konohamaru and his friends always proved to be a great distraction. He didn't know if it was Konohamaru's blatant hero-worship of himself, or the way the other two, Udon and Moegi, seemed to look up at him with admiration and respect, but even in his darkest moods they could usually cheer him up fairly quickly. Perhaps it was because, after Iruka, they were the first to accept him- to see past the mask he put up, and the pranks and saw him for who he was instead of who, or what, he appeared to be.

'Just this once...' he'd thought, for perhaps the one thousandth time, 'I'll humor them a bit...'

"You know Konohamaru..." Naruto sighed, "Rocks aren't perfectly square, and they don't have eye holes..."

"Just what I'd expect from my eternal rival!" shouted the 'rock' before exploding into multicolored smoke. When the smoke cleared Naruto could see three young children on their hands and knees in a coughing fit. "Too much gunpowder..." said the one in the middle who was wearing a yellow shirt, khaki pants, blue scarf and a set of green goggles. When they noticed Naruto was watching them they all shot up to their feet and struck poses.

The first up was a girl with orange hair and rosy cheeks. She wore a pink shirt with a maroon vest and cape over it and khaki shorts. She, like Konohamaru, wore green goggles on her head. "Sexiness of an adult, kunoichi, Moegi!"

The other boy, who wore a dark blue jacket and khaki shorts and giant glasses on his face, as well as yet another set of green goggles. "I love assembling models, Udon!"

The leader, not to be outdone, was the most enthusiastic of the bunch. "The village's number one genius ninja... Konohamaru!"

In unison they all said, "The three of us together make... The Konohamaru Corps!"

Naruto couldn't help but smirk at their actions. "What's with the goggles?"

"We've decided to copy the old you!" said Konohamaru proudly.

Naruto smiled at the young boy. "Don't ever change Konohamaru..." He then took the roof tops heading towards his spot.

"Konohamaru-kun... Is Naruto-nii-chan all right?" asked Moegi.

The normally cheerful and energetic leader frowned a moment before giving her a small smile, "He will be, nothin' keeps the Boss down for long!"

**_

* * *

_**

The Genin and Haku looked uncomfortable and upset at what the Hokage and Kakashi told them.

"His eyes..." Haku whispered. At everyone's questioning look, "I've only saw those eyes on one other person, and that was when Zabuza and I left Kiri... They held the same expression mine did before I was found by Zabuza. They're similar to both Sasuke-san and Kakashi-san's, but also far different."

Judging from Kakashi's exposed eye, Sakura could tell he was frowning. Sasuke on the other hand remained emotionless and silent. He neither confirmed or denied anything Haku had said. Sakura was dismayed, and for the first time she took a look at those around her and realized just how lucky she had been. Sasuke-kun's entire family had been killed, Haku's father killed his mother and tried to kill him, and it seemed Kakashi-sensei was hiding some sort of dark past as well...

"He's good at hiding it, but it's painfully visible to those who have suffered as much as he has or to those who now to look," said Kakashi, "I'll be the first to admit that I too fell into the same trap as the villagers. While I did not hold the same contempt for the fox the village has, I did not step in to help him either."

"Worry not Kakashi, he bares no grudge against you," said Sandaime, "Still, I think it's time to find Naruto and show him that you're still his friends. While you may not be the closest of groups, he has found a measure of acceptance with each of you and he fears losing that more than anything."

_**

* * *

**_

Sakura, Haku, and Sasuke each went after Naruto. They took Naruto's earlier advice and sought out Konohamaru, as Iruka was still teaching classes. Needless to say, they got more than they bargained for.

"Hello Konohamaru-san, have you seen Naruto around lately?" asked Sakura. She smiled sweetly at the little boy. He only growled in response.

"Why?!" he yelled, "Haven't you done enough already? He wouldn't even stop to play ninja with us like he promised!?"

Sasuke snorted. "A ninja playing ninja?" That was obviously the wrong response as Moegi and Udon immediately latched on to the Sandaime's grandson.

"Let me go, I'm gonna kick his ass!" yelled Konohamaru. "LET! ME! GO! I can't let him get away with making fun of the Boss!" Sasuke raise an eyebrow at the small boy's behavior, while Sakura looked shocked at the sheer amount of protectiveness and devotion he had for Naruto, while Haku merely smiled at the boy.

Haku squatted down to Konohamaru's level and smiled. "I assure you Konohamaru-san, we do not wish Naruto-sama any ill will. He's just down from some things he found out today and we wish to cheer him up. Do you know where we can find him?"

Konohamaru calmed down visibly, enough that Udon and Moegi let go of their leader. He still glared at Sasuke suspiciously. Turning back to Haku, "I believe you, but... If you hurt Nii-Chan I will kick your ass!" His glare was mostly directed at Sasuke when he said this. Sakura finally had enough of it.

"Quit glaring at Sasuke-kun like that and just tell us where we can find Naruto!" she demanded.

"**How DARE he glare at Sasuke-kun like that!"** yelled Inner Sakura.

After a fierce glare at Sakura, Konohamaru gave in, "Fine I'll tell you. When Boss wants to be alone, away from everyone, he goes to the top of the Hokage Mountain. He said it helps him think when he's away from everyone and the Yondaime's head has the best view of the village."

"Thank you Konohamaru-san," smiled Haku. "If you continue to protect your precious people, you will grow strong. Remember that." said Haku as the trio left the Konohamaru Corps in search of Naruto.

Konohamaru smiled at Haku, "You're nice! You'd be much better for The Boss than the big fore-headed girl he likes so much. You're much prettier too!" He blushed slightly when he said this.

Haku sighed and restrained Sakura as she charged at Konohamaru. Moegi and Udon cringed in fear behind him at the murderous eyes of the pink haired kunoichi. "I'm a boy," he said as he walked off, more than a little aggravated that people kept assuming he was a girl. They left behind three gaping children.

**_

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_**

It wasn't long afterwards that the two genin and the former nuke-nin found a very dejected Naruto sitting where Konohamaru said he'd be- sitting on top of the Yondaime's head looking out over the village.

"I'm surprised you're here," said Naruto. Even Sasuke was surprised that Naruto was able to sense their presence. "Don't look so surprised, it's just a little side affect of the Jagan... It seems as if the world is much clearer than it used to be." He gave a small smile before going silent once more.

Much to everyone's surprise, it was Sasuke who spoke first. "Even with your new kekkei genkai and your... 'furry little problem', you're still a dobe."

"Is that so..." said Naruto in a low voice. "Then lets go to the training grounds so I can kick your ass Sasuke-teme!" When he looked back at his teammates and Haku he gave them a foxy half grin.

"Get real loser, I wouldn't even have to active my Sharingan to take on the likes of you," said Sasuke arrogantly.

"I'll kick your ass so hard not even your precious fangirls will want to be near you!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto-baka, if you even think about harming my precious Sasuke-kun I'll make sure you won't be able to eat ramen for a week!" threatened Sakura.

"**That's right! And then we'll beat that Ino-pig to a pulp and Sasuke-kun will be all mine! Shannaro!!!" **Inner Sakura exclaimed while pumping her fist up and down over her head.

"Sakura-chan!" whined Naruto.

Haku smiled. Those three were going to be just fine.

**

* * *

**

A week later, things were back to normal, except Naruto didn't bother Sakura so often. Not that his teammates noticed, or at least Sasuke didn't. Sakura actually began to miss the blonde's attention as she began to realize he was always there to help her when she was down from facing yet another of Sasuke's rejections.

Naruto spent most of his time either training his new kekkei genkai or practicing kenjutsu after Kakashi gave him the Yondaime's sword, Shikon no Ruujin (Fang of the Dragon King). To help with his kenjutsu, Kakashi got Gekko Hayate, as well as Maito Gai's student, Ten-Ten, to help with Naruto's training.

* * *

Kakashi could see Sakura become more and more visibly depressed as time went on, when he investigated, he noticed what she had, although he had come to the realization much faster than she did. 

'You don't know what you have until it's gone...' he mused to himself, then he looked over to Naruto, 'However, he isn't gone yet, his feelings are very much the same... He's just trying to suppress them, to keep himself from being hurt.'

Kakashi frowned thinking back to when Naruto changed his behavior towards Sakura. He then shook his head sadly, 'Of course... If he didn't stand a chance before, he thinks there's no hope now that she knows... Naruto...'

* * *

Haku had gone through an evaluation of his skills. Sandaime placed him as a Chuunin with eligibility for the Jonin Exams in two years time. He was placed in the hospital to learn more from the medical staff there. Haku's skills had shown enough promise that he was placed in training under a very promising Genin named Yakushi Kabuto. 

As stated before, things were pretty much back to normal... Almost...

* * *

"Sasuke-kun... Would you like to train with me, you know... Boost our team work skills?" asked Sakura, her face filled with hope. 

"No, you're annoying..." said Sasuke, "You have absolutely no talent and your skills are even worse than Naruto's before he awakened the Jagan."

"Oh... A-alright..." said Sakura dejectedly. 'W-w-worse... Than... Naruto...' She let her head fall down as she walked away depressed.

_**

* * *

**_

A few blocks away, Naruto was sitting in the lotus position on the roof of a building. His eyes were closed and his Jagan had started to glow with great intensity while he clenched his hands into tight fists. He had seen and heard the entire interaction between Sasuke and Sakura. "Baka, Sasuke-teme..." he muttered to himself.

"Yo, Naruto, what's going on?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto sighed, "Nothing Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto had gone through a complete wardrobe change. He now wore an orange sleeveless shirt, black baggy pants, with boots that went half way up his shins. He was wearing his hitai-ite, which now had orange cloth instead of blue, around his waist. He wore a simple black headband around his forehead, which was currently in his pocket, to conceal the Jagan, a black wristband on each arm, and a black trench coat with two orange stripes that stretched the entire length of both arms from the cuff to the collar.

"Sasuke reject Sakura again?" he asked innocently. He had been observing Naruto when he was observing the other two. Only one thing ever made him react like that.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" shouted Naruto angrily.

"She'll come around eventually Naruto," Kakashi consoled him.

"Hn..." Naruto grunted, "This eye sees more than you think Kakashi-sensei..." he said sadly, "I don't stand a chance... Not now... Not ever..."

"There's still time, after all, you both are only twelve," Kakashi said trying to boost Naruto's spirits. It was unnerving having to do so, when far too often it was the other way around.

"You don't get it do you?" asked Naruto respectfully, "I can see everything in the smallest detail when I concentrate hard enough and take the time to notice. Sasuke's constant rejections haven't gone unnoticed. He was far less fan girls than he used to. Many of them that he still has, react differently to him now. He's... less of an idol to them... But not Sakura... She's so determined... Her feelings run much deeper than the others, even that Ino girl she's always competing with... While the others are chasing a dream, she's trying to bring out the real Sasuke he hides underneath all the layers of emo-ness. She _loves_ him even more than she knows..."

'I... I wonder if this is how Obito felt all those times...' Kakashi gave Naruto a sad smile that went unnoticed due to his mask. "Things will work out..."

"They always do..." said Naruto sagely. "So, what do you need? I doubt you came to talk about my lack of love life..."

Kakashi smiled, "Yes, well, I want you and the others to meet me on the bridge tomorrow at noon. And Don't worry, I'll let the others know... Go ahead and continue your... training."

_**

* * *

**_

Later that day, Naruto was walking down the streets when his Jagan began to glow for a moment behind the headband. "Konohamaru... You really need to come up with something new..."

That's when the square 'rock' with eye holes that had been trailing the blonde jinchuuriki yelled out, "I couldn't expect anything less from my eternal rival!"

After yet another explosion of multicolored smoke, three young kids appeared on the ground coughing on their hands and knees. "Too much gunpowder..." coughed out Udon. Naruto mentally sighed at their appearance. His three 'subordinates' were still sporting their green goggles, but now they were also sporting trench coats similar to his own. Konohamaru was wearing a black trench coat with a light blue stripe running down the arms. Moegi's was black with two pink stripes and Udon's was black with three tan stripes. The three saw Naruto watching them and immediately struck poses.

"The most beautiful and graceful kunoichi in history, Moegi!"

"I enjoy doing long division, Udon!"

"Genius ninja and future number one Hokage ever, Konohamaru!"

"And together," they all shouted in unison, "We form... The Konohamaru Corps!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Taking on more of my style, eh?"

"Of course, I can't allow my eternal rival to be more stylish than we are!" shouted Konohamaru, "So... Boss... You have time right?" he asked hopefully.

"I dunno... I've been awfully busy lately..." Naruto said teasingly, scratching the back of his head.

The members of the Konohamaru Corps turned to look at each other and each nodded. "Do it Moegi!" shouted Konohamaru.

Much to Naruto's surprise, Moegi went through a series of hand seals, but he couldn't place the technique as one he'd ever remembered seeing. "Puppy Dog Eyes no Jutsu!" she shouted.

"C'mon Boss! Play ninja with us!" Konohamaru begged. "Please!" Moegi and Udon added.

Sakura watched the entire scene with a small smile on her face. It was the small moments like these when she missed her blonde team mate the most, as he always had that special ability to lift other's spirits no matter what.

"I guess I have some time to spare..." he said as if he was busy.

"A ninja playing ninja," Sakura teased her team mate.

"Sakura-chan..." whispered Naruto. He had been so focused on the Konohamaru Corps antics, he hadn't felt her distinctive presence approach. He was so caught of guard that even Konohamaru caught the expression on Naruto's face when he saw Sakura before it passed. Sakura, on the other hand, remained oblivious to the depth of Naruto's feelings.

Konohamaru decided it was time to step in and help the boss for once.

"Hey Boss... Is she... Is she your... you know..." he asked holding up his pinky.

After glancing quickly at Sakura to gauge her reaction, Naruto decided on taking the safe route, after all he wouldn't interfere with her love if he could help it any longer. "No, Sakura is just my team mate, nothing more," Naruto said seriously.

The words stung. More than they should have, Sakura admitted to herself.

"**Why should you care what he thinks of you? Maybe he finally got the hint and realized that our heart only belongs to Sasuke-kun! Shannaro!!!" **shouted Inner Sakura. Sakura didn't answer or even acknowledge her second personality.

Naruto missed the brief look of hurt that graced Sakura's face. Konohamaru decided a little bit of reverse psychology was in order to try and get the pink haired kunoichi to finally see the boss for what he truly was. "Just as I expected from my eternal rival! I knew you wouldn't go out with someone like her! You're much too good for her!"

Naruto's eyes widened in horror and Sakura's face drooped in sadness as each replayed Sasuke's words to her earlier. Naruto was torn between berating Konohamaru and comforting the now distraught Sakura, however Konohamaru wasn't finished. "I mean, who'd want to go out with some flat chested, ugly girl with a gigantic forehead!"

Sakura's expression went from dejected to absolutely furious as Naruto's became even more afraid. "Kuso... Run, Konohamaru!" The Konohamaru Corps ran at the sight of an enraged Sakura with Naruto close behind.

As they turned the corner, Konohamaru ran into a big guy in a black jumpsuit with cat ears. He had something strapped to his back that was wrapped in bandages.

"Hey that hurt you little gaki!" shouted the boy as he snatched up Konohamaru be the collar.

"Put him down," threatened Naruto coldly. He pulled back his jacket revealing his sword.

"Don't start any trouble... He'll get angry..." said a blonde haired girl who wore a Suna hitai-ite around her neck and a giant fan strapped to her back. "We're here for the exams only not to pick fights.

"He's not here right now, and I just wanna have a little fun. Besides this little twerp bumped into me. I need to teach him to watch where he's going." said the tall stocky boy.

Sakura looked at the girl questioningly, "Exams? Why are you here? I... I mean, judging by your hitai-ite, you're from Suna, but even allies of Konoha need a passport signed by the Hokage..."

"You mean these?" said the girl arrogantly showing her passport, "We're here for the Chuunin Exams. Seeing that you don't know about them means you must be a rookie. Just pathetic little weaklings."

"I won't repeat myself again... Put. Him. Down." Naruto's eyes became slitted.

"What are you gonna do? You're almost as small as this gaki," taunted the Suna-nin.

Before Naruto could move, a rock struck the boy's arm, forcing him to release Konohamaru. "Kuso... Keep your nose out of where it belongs!" the boy shouted to the branch of the tree, on which sat Konoha's current Rookie of the Year, Uchiha Sasuke. He crushed the rock he was holding in his hand.

"When it concerns a fellow citizen of Konoha, it concerns all of us," Sasuke said, "Especially when you decide to pick on the Hokage's defenseless grandson."

"You want trouble, eh?" asked the boy angrily. "Let's see how you handle this!" he said as he pulled the object off his back.

"You're not going to use that are you..." asked the blonde haired girl with a worried tone.

"I wouldn't if I were you," warned Naruto.

"And why is that, scared?" taunted the boy.

"No, the guy with the gourd on his back on the branch next to Sasuke is becoming very angry at you," said Naruto. Everyone looked back up at the tree in shock, even Sasuke.

'I didn't even sense him and he was right next to me...' thought Sasuke, the shock evident on his face.

The second boy's face flitted with surprise before turning to annoyance. "Kankuro... Quit making a fool of yourself... Or I _will_ kill you!" he said.

"G-G-Gaara..." Kankuro whispered as the new kid, 'Gaara', disappeared in a swirl of sand and appeared next to Kankuro, Naruto and the blonde girl. Only Naruto and the girl heard him.

"You're an embarrassment to our village," Gaara emotionlessly scolded Kankuro. "What did you think we came to Konoha to do?"

"L-Listen... They s-st-started it..."

"Shut up, or I'll kill you," Gaara threatened, and by the look on both Kankuro and the girl's faces he would more than likely live up to his threat.

"I got it... My mistake," apologized Kankuro with a terrified expression on his face. "I-I'm sorry. Very, VERY sorry..."

"My apologies to you guys," Gaara said to the Genin and kids next to his teammates.

Gaara looked towards Sasuke, 'He was able to hit Kankuro with that stone so easily... He's good...' he thought to himself, 'But... this one... He had no problem sensing my presence... He's just as good... And yet... Familiar...' he thought as he turned his gaze to Naruto.

'So... familiar...' thought Naruto as he watched the red haired boy.

"We're leaving," Gaara ordered the other two. "We did not come here to play around."

"I know," acknowledged Kankuro.

Sasuke jumped down to join his teammates. "What is your name?" he demanded of Gaara. Kankuro flinched, but the girl had a faint blush.

"Y-you wish to know my name?" she asked.

"No," Sasuke said coldly, "I want to know his." he said pointing at Gaara. "The one with the gourd." The girl tried not to let her disappointment show.

"Sabaku no Gaara," he answered, "I am also interested in you two, what are your names?" he said nodding towards Sasuke and Naruto.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uzumaki Naruto," said Naruto, only Gaara saw the brief glow of the Jagan underneath Naruto's headband. "It was hard wasn't it?" he asked Gaara.

Gaara stiffened at the question. The others only looked in confusion at both Naruto and Gaara. "The loneliness, was hell, wasn't it... Always asking yourself what your purpose was..."

"You know nothing of what you speak," Gaara replied coldly. Kankuro and the girl trembled in fear.

"I understand far better than you think. We're the same, you and I..." Naruto closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were blood red and slitted. Kankuro and the girl stepped back from the two. Gaara's eyes widened in surprise for a quick moment before he merely grunted in response and walked away his companions trailing behind him.

"What was that about Boss?" asked Konohamaru, who was proud of his boss showing up the Uchiha prodigy. "You were so cool!"

Unlike other times, Naruto didn't say anything for a long while, his eyes never leaving the retreating backs of the Suna-nin, though they had since returned to their normal sapphire color. He then turned to Sasuke and Sakura with a frown on his face, "That boy... He's... Like me... We have to let Kakashi-sensei know about this when we see him tomorrow..."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded in understanding.

Konohamaru just looked at Naruto with a confused expression on his face, his friends were equally puzzled. "What do you mean by that, Boss?"

Naruto simply squatted down to face Konohamaru, "I'll tell you, but now is not the time, alright. When I think you're ready, I'll tell you, all three of you." he said pointing to Moegi and Udon as well.

Konohamaru was about to protest but Naruto quickly cut him off, "I promise, Konohamaru. I vow on my dream to be Hokage and our friendship, I _will_ tell you eventually, just... not right now."

Konohamaru's smile threatened to cover his entire face. Not only had Naruto acknowledged him as Konohamaru instead of 'Honorable Grandson', but he truly considered Konohamaru to be a true friend, and perhaps a true rival as well. "Sure thing, Naruto-nii-san."

Naruto couldn't keep the fox-like smile from showing on his face.

_**

* * *

**__The pairings are still very much undecided at this point, though I did give all you Naruto x Sakura fans a nice little moment. With Naruto's increased perceptiveness with the eye, he can actually see a bit more clearly how much Sakura actually cares for Sasuke, so he's decided to back off. He knows how he feels about her and he's willing to give that up for her happiness. Sakura on the other hand, while annoyed at Naruto's constant attention, has become accustomed to it and actually misses it because on some level she liked it. Even if you don't return a person's feelings it's still nice that at least someone cares about you like that. It's uncertain exactly how she feels about him because her views about him have changed dramatically, and she hasn't actually stopped to think about it, however it's safe to say he is one of her closest friends at this point._

_I always believed that while Sasuke did see Naruto as his best friend and rival, he also felt himself superior to Naruto because he had a kekkei genkai and Naruto did not. When Naruto started catching up and actually surpassed him in both Sasuke got jealous, especially since Kakashi would not let him use the curse seal even though it gave him a power boost. That was his reasoning that Konoha was holding him back._

_Because Naruto has a kekkei genkai and is the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Sasuke will feel that Naruto is more worthy of being a rival. He will still feel Naruto is inferior because he was the 'dead last' and he himself was 'Rookie of the Year', but he will recognize the fact that because of Kyuubi, many instructors tried to hold back and stunt Naruto's development, with the exception of Umino Iruka._

_Kakashi will still be Kakashi. While in canon he may have neglected Sakura and Naruto in favor of training Sasuke, he wasn't a bad sensei, he just tended to live a lot in the past. As seen already, he has taken both Sasuke and Naruto under his wing because of old debts he feels he has to pay to both Obito and Arashi. However, at Naruto's insistence, Kakashi will be a bit more fair and make sure that Sakura won't be neglected in favor of either her male teammates._

_Keep in mind that there were several weeks in between the beginning and the end of the chapter, so I had to show some progression with Naruto's kekkei genkai. I hope it wasn't too much too soon for some of you. I'll admit not much training was actually shown, far less than what I wanted originally, there were a quite a few secrets revealed._

_Despite the name of the Chapter, the main focus of the chapter was a development of the bonds between the Genin members of Team 7, as well as the bonds between the Konohamaru Corps and Naruto._


	3. The Chuunin Exams Begin, A Name Isn

**Chapter Three: The Chuunin Exams Begin, A Name Isn't Everything...**

The members of Team 7 had shown up one by one, two and a half hours after the arranged meeting time.

After all, when your sensei is chronically late, you can't expect him to change his ways even for something as important as the announcement of the Chuunin Selection Exams. Both Naruto and Sasuke were ready for the exams, and were eagerly anticipating them. Sakura, on the other hand, was not. She had doubts of her own abilities.

She had no illusions that she was the weakest link on their team. Her chakra control was the best, but she had far less chakra and stamina than Sasuke, whose own reserves paled in comparison to Naruto's. Of course Naruto's chakra pool was so huge, that even with the Jagan, controlling his massive power was still rather difficult, putting Sasuke and Naruto on an almost equal level _if _she was completely honest with herself. Of course Sasuke knew and could perform more jutsus, but Naruto's were more unique and definitely nothing to laugh at, as she learned in Wave Country. Sasuke's superior skills were offset by Naruto's overwhelming power.

"Yo!" greeted Kakashi.

"YOU'RE LATE!" yelled Sakura.

"Well, you see... I got lost on the road of life..." he said.

"LIAR!" she shouted.

"You know Sakura-chan, it's not like we've been waiting long. We just got here not too long ago ourselves..." smirked Naruto.

Sakura punched him on the back of the head.

"Baka…" she whispered to Naruto harshly.

"_Anyways_… I have great news for you all…" he said lazily.

"You're entering us into the Chuunin Exams that takes place in two days?" asked Sasuke, though it was almost more of a statement.

"Well... Yes… How did you guess?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble yesterday with the Suna team. They have a someone _like me_ on their team. His name is Gaara." Naruto informed Kakashi.

Kakashi frowned. "I had heard rumors… But I'd have never have suspected the Kazekage's own son to be one. This may complicate things later…"

"Gaara is the Kazekage's son?" asked Sakura.

"Yes, in fact, his teammates are his older brother and sister," Kakashi informed them, "It would be best to avoid him as much as possible during the exams, though that will be impossible once the third part of the exam starts."

"Why is that Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't tell you that," said Kakashi.

"Can't… Or won't?" asked Naruto.

"Either way, would it matter?" Sasuke asked Naruto, "We're not going to find out until we get that far." Naruto nodded his head.

"Remember it's each individual's choice whether or not to participate. I don't want to see any of you there unless you're absolutely ready," Kakashi warned them as he handed them their registration forms.

"Don't worry about it Kakashi-sensei, just leave everything to us!" said Naruto.

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura shouted hitting him on the head. "This is serious! People have died in these exams!"

"But Sakura-chan, we're all a lot stronger now. Especially you, you're at least twice as powerful as you were when we first left for Wave Country. We've all grown a lot since then, but especially you." Naruto said sincerely. Sakura blushed with the bit of praise, only she quickly became dismayed because it was Naruto, not Sasuke-kun, that complimented her and tried to raise her spirits.

Kakashi smiled at the small by-play. Sasuke looked a bit annoyed and some what relieved that his most avid fan girl was finally moving on. "Thanks Naruto." she said gratefully.

"Well, I must be off, you have the rest of the day free," said Kakashi as he used shunshin to teleport away in a swirl of leaves.

"One of these days... I am going to learn how to do that…" said Naruto under his breath. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun… Would you like to do something tonight?" asked Sakura.

"No," he coldly answered slightly annoyed at her. Sakura frowned for a bit before deciding to turn to Naruto. "Hey Naruto…" He was already gone. 'Even Naruto is leaving me behind now…'

She looked down at the ground and sulked as she left the training ground.

Naruto watched her go with sad eyes. "You know, it looked like she was finally going to ask you out Naruto," said Kakashi from behind the Genin. "You've been waiting for that opportunity for so long, are you just going to let her walk away?"

"I do have _some_ pride Kakashi-sensei," Naruto sighed, "I am a lot of things… loud, annoying, an idiot… But I will _not_ be Sasuke's replacement."

"Fair enough, though I think you might be underestimating her though…" said Kakashi.

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders in reply before setting out to find something to do for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

It wasn'tlong until Naruto found the Konohamaru Corps, or rather, they found him. 

"Naruto-nii-chan, are you going to play ninja with us today?" asked Udon.

"Yeah, you didn't play ninja with us the last time you said you would!" accused Konohamaru.

"Well, I would have if you hadn't gone and pissed off Sakura-chan like that," Naruto defended himself, "Then you had to go and pick a fight with that Suna bully!"

"I was only trying to get her to go out with you!" exclaimed Konohamaru, now on the defensive.

"I appreciate it, I really do, but Sakura-chan just doesn't feel that way about me," said Naruto.

It wasn't lost on Moegi that he hadn't mentioned his own feelings for his team mate and she decided to help out her own crush and call Naruto out on it. "What about you, nii-chan? Don't you like her?"

Naruto sighed, these kids would be the death of him one day, he was sure of it. "Listen guys, I know what you're trying to do, but this is just something I have to deal with on my own."

"You still didn't answer the question boss!" pointed out Konohamaru.

"And I don't plan on it either!" argued Naruto. The Konohamaru Corps all nodded in unison as they looked at each other. "Do it Moegi!"

"Puppy Dog Eyes no Jutsu!" she shouted and gave Naruto that menacing stare that he knew he'd give in to.

Before he could answer though, Moegi was spirited away by an enemy shinobi.

"Nii-chan!" shouted Moegi. "Konohamaru-kun!"

"Boss you gotta save her!" shouted Konohamaru.

"Right, just leave everything to me!" said Naruto confidently as he took off after the other shinobi.

**

* * *

**

After a short chase Naruto confronted the enemy shinobi who had Moegi tied to a tree. "Drop out of the Chuunin Exams or I'll kill the girl!" said the ninja.

"You're pathetic. I could beat you without even laying a finger on you," said Naruto confidently.

"And how do you think you're going to accomplish that?" asked the ninja.

"Look down," said Naruto as he puffed out of existence.

"Wha-!" anything else he was about to say was interrupted when Naruto burst from the ground.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" shouted Naruto as he punched the ninja in the face. "I've improved more than you gave me credit for haven't I, Iruka-sensei?" The Konohamaru Corps looked at the enemy nin in shock.

The nin dropped the Henge. "Congratulations Naruto. You passed, though how did you know it was me?"

"Easy, I could tell by the feel of your chakra," he answered.

"You can sense Chakra signatures?" asked Iruka, amazed, "That's incredible for one your age, most Jonin can't do that!"

Naruto smirked, "Since when was I ever a regular shinobi.

"You'll make a fine Hokage one day, Naruto," said Iruka sincerely.

"The best one ever, until Konohamaru here takes over for me," he said as he smirked, ruffling Konohamaru's hair. It took a moment for Konohamaru to register what Naruto had said, but then gave him a big grin, before hugging him.

"Do you mean that boss?" asked Konohamaru.

"You betcha, Konohamaru, it's the job of each Hokage to surpass the one before him, but don't think because you're my favorite rival that I'll make it easy for you. You're going to have to work extra hard to surpass me." Naruto told the young boy.

"Don't worry Boss! Just leave everything to me!" shouted Konohamaru, "When I become Hokage, I'm going to surpass all the ones that came before me! Believe it!" He shouted going into the 'Nice Guy' pose.

_(A/N: The opportunity was just waaaaaay to good to pass up!)_

Naruto and Iruka sweat dropped.

'He's even stealing my catch-phrases...' Naruto thought with a deadpan look on his face.

"Why don't we go out for some Ramen in a bit. I have to file a report on your progress Naruto but I'll meet you all at Ichiraku's in about ten minutes, alright?" said Iruka disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

'KUSO! I really have to learn how to do that!' thought Naruto as he and the Konohamaru Corps headed off to his favorite restaurant.

**

* * *

**

Not too far way from where Naruto had 'saved' Moegi...

"How did they do?" asked Kakashi.

"Spectacularly, I'm afraid," said Iruka with a small sigh, "They've all progressed much farther than I thought they would in such a short time."

"What did you think of Naruto's performance?" asked Kakashi lazily.

"His... His performance surprised me the most..." said Iruka with a slight smile, "He's really come far... How did he learn to sense Chakra signatures in such a short time."

"Since Naruto trusts you so much, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you, though I'm sure Naruto would have preferred to tell you himself..." said Kakashi, "He's awakened a kekkei genkai, the only people who know are Sasuke, Sakura, Haku, myself and the Sandaime."

Iruka frowned. "But... That means he must have a family after all..." He then started to shake in rage, "All the time spent alone..."

"His family all died during the Kyuubi attack," interrupted Kakashi, "We just know for certain who they were."

"Who?" asked Iruka, letting go of his anger.

"Arashi-sensei," said Kakashi.

"Y-Yondaime-sama..." Iruka gasped. Kakashi nodded, "B-But that means..." Kakashi nodded a second time. Iruka regained control, "How'd he take it?"

"Not well at first, and that's to be expected, but he understood," said Kakashi, "He actually took it better than I thought he would."

"So Naruto has the Jagan..." said Iruka wistfully. He then looked sad for a moment, "You were right Kakashi-san..."

"You're just looking out for them, so there is no need to apologize," Kakashi assured him, "Just keep in mind that they do have to grow up at sometime. Now I believe you have to meet some Hokage candidates and their friends that are waiting for you to treat them to Ramen."

**

* * *

**

Naruto was the first to arrive on the day the exams began. He only had to wait ten minutes before Sasuke, slightly trailed by Sakura, came into view.

"You ready, dobe?" asked Sasuke arrogantly.

"You bet, teme!" said Naruto excitedly, "Just don't cry when you end up in the hospital after the beating I'm going to give you in the exams!"

"As if... I work harder getting out of bed in the morning than I would fighting you," he said confidently, a smirk appeared on his face.

"That's because you're too afraid to fight me anymore, you'd rather be lazy and stay in bed or practicing your stealth skills by escaping your fangirls," teased Naruto.

"You're just jealous because you don't have any," replied Sasuke.

"Take that back!" yelled Naruto.

As Team 7 entered the building, they failed to notice the blushing pale-eyed member of Team 8 who had been watching them, or rather Naruto, from behind a corner of the building. She had frowned at Sasuke's remark because, while she didn't consider herself a fangirl, as that would be improper, she did admire Naruto a great deal.

"Hey Hinata!" shouted her team mate, "What are you doing?"

"N-Nothing, Kiba-kun..." she said hesitantly as her two teammates approached.

"Well, I guess we should go, huh?" asked Kiba, then he got an excited look on his face, "We are so going to kick so much ass!"

"Provided you don't do anything too rash Kiba," said Shino.

"Relax, how hard can it be?" he asked.

"More than anything we might be able to handle, do keep in mind we are only rookie genins..." Shino reminded him, "It is logical to assume that we have the greatest chance of failing this exam, and your tendency to rush into things will only serve to hold us back."

"So I'm holding us back huh?!" asked Kiba dangerously.

"P-please d-don't fight..." Hinata pleaded quietly, "I'm s-s-sure Shino-kun didn't m-mean it like th-that..."

"Hinata's right, for the time being, we have much more important things to worry about..." Shino agreed, while Kiba merely grunted in acceptance.

**

* * *

**

Team 7 had only gone up one floor when they were stopped by a group of people who were standing in front of the door. Sasuke was walking in between Sakura and Naruto, slightly ahead of them. In the middle of the group they watch two people keeping people from entering the room. Sasuke looked up at the sign, it read 301. He looked back at Naruto who simply nodded at him. Sasuke stepped in when the two ninja knocked down a kid wearing a green leotard and sported a bowl hair cut and bushy eyebrows.

"You plan on taking the Chuunin Exams like that? What makes you think you're good enough?" asked a kid with spiky hair.

"You guys should just quit now," said a second kid right next to him. He wore his hitai-ite like a bandana.

"You're all just little kids," the first one taunted.

"Please let us through," pleaded a girl with her hair in a double bun hair style. She was quickly knocked down by the two boys.

Naruto recognized her instantly, as she was one of the people he trained in kenjutsu with, and narrowed his eyes. 'She's much stronger than that, and her team mates are supposed to be strong too... What's going on?'

"Listen, we're being nice, The Chuunin Exams aren't easy," said the first one.

"Of all those taking the exam," lectured the second, "Many will quit being shinobi, while others are unable to recover at all. We've seen it many times before."

"A Chuunin is the level of military platoon captains. The failure of a mission and the death of his men... That is all the responsibility of the captain." explained the first.

"We're just thinning out the ranks of those that will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?" asked the second.

"I agree," said Sasuke stepping in, Naruto and Sakura trailing behind him. "But... You'll let us pass through... Also, get rid of the genjutsu, we're going to the _third_ floor."

There was whispering through out the room at this proclamation. Naruto was strangely relieved that Ten-Ten's team was not among those surprised that there had been a genjutsu in place.

"So you noticed, eh?" asked the second kid, not surprised in the slightest.

"Sakura, you must have noticed it first, right?" Sasuke had noticed the pink haired kunoichi was distracted as of late and knew that she'd be a liability if her lack of focus continued. It's not that he didn't like her, because he did, he just didn't like the way she tended to glomp on him and dote on him constantly as if he were a small child. "Your analytical skills and genjutsu identification abilities are the most advanced on our team."

"Thank you... Sasuke-kun..." she said gratefully. "Of course I already noticed. This is only the second floor, EVEN Naruto noticed it."

"I'm not _that_ bad at genjutsu!" Naruto declared. In truth, even with the Jagan, he was still not very good at genjutsu, but his skills, in recent weeks, had sky rocketed and he knew it wouldn't be too long before he was at Sasuke's level at identifying and seeing through them without the Sharingan. He could dispel some weaker ones, but his chakra control was far too lacking to even preform the simplest of genjutsu. The only one he could really do consistently was the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique), and that was only because of the constant training and use of his patented kinjutsu, the Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique).

"Not bad..." replied the first, "But all you really did was see through it." As he said this he began to move to attack Sasuke. Noticing his movements, both Sasuke and Naruto tensed. Before anyone knew what happened the green clad boy had come in between Sasuke and the spiky haired kid.

'Fast...' thought a wide eyed Sakura. 'It's like he's completely changed from the person who was getting knocked down just moments ago...'

As Sasuke and his impromptu opponent relaxed, Sasuke couldn't help but admire the green clad Genin's skill. 'Catching that kick... That's some amazing chakra in his arms...'

Naruto was even more surprised than either of his team mates, because in the brief moment he used the Jagan, he had caught everything in detail. 'He... He didn't even use chakra... Even Sasuke can't move like that...'In fact, he hardly felt any chakra coming from the boy, even less than a weak academy student. There was just barely enough for the kid to be alive.

"What happened to the plan?" asked a pale-eyed boy next to Ten-Ten, whom Naruto surmised to be her other team mate. "You're the one who said we shouldn't attract attention to ourselves."

"Well..." the green clad genin began to explain, as he looked over at Sakura.

Sakura got a feeling of dread at the pit of her stomach. 'Oh no...'

'So, they were hiding their abilities. I know how strong Ten-Ten can be, and this guy doesn't appear to be too weak either. I can't help but wonder how strong that other guy is...' Naruto thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the green clad kid walked up to Sakura, "My name is Rock Lee. So, yours is Sakura..." said Lee as if steeling up his courage, he then started to blush and gave he her a thumbs up. "Will you be my girlfriend?!" he asked as he smile at her and gave her a wink. "I shall protect you always, until I die!"

"N-no... Way..." said Sakura, more than a little freaked out. Rock Lee just put his head down in shame. Naruto gave him a sympathetic smile, after all he knew how it felt to be rejected.

"Hey, you..." said the paled eyed boy directing his eerie gaze at Sasuke. "What is your name?"

'Sizing up the competition I see...' thought Naruto, looking at the boy intently.

"When you want to learn someone's name, you should give your own first," said Sasuke in an arrogant tone.

"You're a rookie right?" asked the pale eyed boy. "How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer to you," replied Sasuke as the other boy narrowed his eyes.

"What?" the pale eyed boy asked coldly, as Ten-Ten giggled at their little stand off.

Sasuke arrogantly turned his back on the boy. "Hey Naruto, Sasuke-kun, let's go!" said Sakura excitedly.

Naruto turned to Ten-Ten, "After this is all over, do you want to train some more Ten-Ten?" asked Naruto, who received strange looks from his and Ten-Ten's team mates. "Hayate-sensei says I've improved, but my technique still pretty much sucks."

"Sure thing Naruto," she smiled at the blonde Genin. While he wasn't anywhere near as good as she was, he was improving at an incredibly fast pace. She still couldn't believe how far he had come in a matter of a few weeks. She was almost certain he was training every bit as much as he could with that sword of his.

"Naruto, how do you know her?" asked Sakura.

"After Kakashi-sensei gave me my father's sword, he set me up with some extra kenjutsu training with Hayate-sensei and Ten-Ten. From what I'm told, her sensei is something of a rival of Kakashi-sensei's and so he jumped at the chance of helping out with my extra training." Naruto informed them. "Kakashi-sensei said something about me being able to use a sword would help... D...Div... Dib... Dibers..."

"Diversify?" asked Sakura trying to help out her team mate.

"Yeah, that!" Naruto said smiling, "Anyways... he said it would make us better as a team, with Sasuke's numerous ninjutsu and your skills with dealing with genjutsu, he said my being able to do kenjutsu would make us harder to defeat."

As they headed down the hall, Sasuke couldn't help but think about all the skilled Genin he had already met. 'All these skilled opponents... Things look like they're going to be interesting...'

It wasn't long until they heard someone behind them. "You! With the dark eyes, hold on!" The trio turned to see the genin in the green leotard behind them on a platform above them. Naruto raised an eyebrow, Sakura cringed, and Sasuke remained impassive.

"What?"

"Would you fight me, right here, right now?" Lee said with a determined look on his face.

"A fight? Here and now?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes," Lee replied as he jumped over the banister and landed about a dozen feet from them. "My name is Rock Lee. When you want to learn a person's name you give your own first, right? _Uchiha Sasuke_."

"So you know?" asked Sasuke now intrigued.

"I want to fight you," said Lee taking an defensive stance, "I want to test just how far my techniques will go against a prodigy of a genius ninja clan." Lee then turned to Sakura, who cringed in fear and was beginning to freak out. "Plus..." he said as he blushed, "Sakura-san, Love..."

"Ewwwww..." That was Sakura's limit as she began to freak out, "Th-Those eyebrows... Just... Ewwwww!"

"You are an angel..." Lee said to her, oblivious to her obvious distaste.

"Just... No! Ewwwww! Stay away!" she shouted at the bushy eye-browed boy.

"You know, you don't have to be so... Negative..." said Lee, dismayed at her rejection.

Sasuke scoffed at Lee, "Challenging me, knowing the Uchiha name... You are a fool! You will learn what just what that name means, bushy-brows!" said a now scowling Sasuke.

"Great!" smirked Lee as he changed into his Goken (Strong Fist) stance. 'Finally Gai-sensei... I shall prove myself...'

"Don't do it Sasuke..." warned Naruto.

"Want him for yourself, Naruto?" asked Sasuke, an arrogant look on his face.

"He wouldn't have challenged you if he didn't think he would win, Sasuke, names and bloodlines will only get you so far," said Naruto. Rock Lee smiled at this.

"Shut-up, Naruto," scolded Sakura, "Sasuke-kun is one of the best genins there is! Not to mention with the Sharingan he's practically unstoppable!"

"Suit yourself, but I know what I saw," he said turning to them so Lee would not see the distinctive glow of the Jagan underneath his black head band.

"Then I'll just have to prove you wrong now won't I, Naruto," said Sasuke.

Though he had not voiced it, that had been a cheap jibe against Naruto's own Bloodline Limit. Sasuke was insinuating that the Jagan was somehow inferior to the Sharingan. Naruto's only thought at why the eye was not calling for Sasuke's blood, was either because it did not catch the veiled insult, which he doubted, or it was content with the fact that Sasuke was about to be beaten to a pulp because of his arrogant over confidence.

"Ready?" asked Sasuke turning his attention back to Rock Lee. Naruto watched the fight in interest, the Jagan open underneath the headband. With Lee's attention fully on Sasuke, he figured it would be safe enough to use to learn that he could.

Sasuke charged Lee, who was waiting patiently. Sasuke threw a punch that was easily blocked by Lee. Sasuke planted his hand on the floor to attempt a whirl wind kick on Lee when the bushy-browed boy countered. "Konoha Reppu (Leaf Gale)!" shouted Lee as he did a sweep. Sasuke pushed up with his arm flipping away from his opponent.

Sakura looked amazed, while Naruto looked completely unsurprised, as Sasuke and Lee were now staring at each other.

'He's strong...' thought Sakura as she watched the boy nearly beat Sasuke-kun in the exchange. While he did not win he definitely came out with the upper hand.

"I'll say this, there is no way you can defeat me," said Lee with all seriousness in his expression, "Because, right now, I am the strongest among the Konoha Genin."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and then grunted as he smirked. "Let's see just how strong you are." Sasuke got ready to go in for another exchange.

"Sasuke-kun, we don't have time. We have to be at the reception desk in less than thirty minutes..." said Sakura worriedly.

"Don't worry," he said with a serious look on his face, "I'll be done in five minutes." He then charged at Lee a second time. As he went to punch the green clad genin, he disappeared. 'What?!'

'Incredible... and without the use of chakra...' thought Naruto with an excited look in his eyes.

"Konoha Daisenpu (Leaf Great Whirlwind)!" shouted Lee as he kicked at Sasuke's head. Sasuke narrowly ducked before a second kick came straight at him.

'I can't dodge!' Sasuke frantically thought. 'I'll have to block! What?!'

Lee's follow-up kick not only broke through Sasuke's guard but tore through it like a rock through paper.

"Sasuke-kun!" shouted Sakura as Sasuke was sent flying and landed straight on his back. 'He blocked that attack...' she thought as she watched Sasuke struggle to stand.

"What the hell is going on..." Sasuke said as he picked himself off the ground. 'He went right through my guard... Was that a ninjutsu or a genjutsu...'

"Fine, it's time for me to get serious!" said Sasuke, both eyes blazing with his two tomoe Sharingan.

"The Sharingan!" said Sakura amazed. All the training on the way back from Wave was paying off as Sasuke could now call up the Sharingan at will, almost on instinct. 'Sasuke-kun is incredible!'

"Sasuke-kun can't lose to this guy!" said Sakura excitedly.

"Just watch, Lee's about to prove why you can't rely on a name and bloodlines," said Naruto. Before Sasuke could charge a third time, Lee kicked him in the chin sending Sasuke flying up into the air.

"B-but the Sharingan..." stuttered Sakura.

"A name isn't everything Sakura," said Naruto as they watched Sasuke's airborne ascent.

'The Sharingan can't read it...' thought Sasuke, 'That means... His moves...'

"My moves are neither ninjutsu nor are they genjutsu," said Lee as he prepared the next sequence of his attack. Sasuke managed to land on is feet but Lee was already on the attack, now charging Sasuke. Sasuke could now only hopelessly dodge Lee's attacks, but no matter what he did, Lee was still connecting with several solid shots. Sasuke backed away after taking an extra strong elbow attack from Lee. "My techniques are simple taijutsu, Sasuke-kun."

"Just as I thought..." Naruto said quietly.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Just watch... We're about to learn the true difference between him and us..." Naruto told her as Lee disappeared only to reappear behind Sasuke.

"You may not believe it, because it's so simple," said Lee, who then jumped to dodge an attack from Sasuke.

"Kuso!" Sasuke said, gritting his teeth.

"It's said that the Sharingan can read all types of ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu," lectured Lee, "Because ninjutsu and genjutsu require you to summon chakra and hand seals to preform, you can easily defend against them. But... taijutsu is different."

"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke.

"Even if you can read my movements with your Sharingan, your body still lacks the speed to react to my taijutsu. It doesn't matter if you can see it, if your body can't keep up, it's useless!" explained Lee, "I believe there are two types of people amongst the strong. The hardworking types and the genius types. Your Uchiha blood is a genius type because of your Sharingan, while I am simply a hardworking type who has mastered only taijutsu."

Sasuke's frustration came to a boil as he angrily charged Lee. Lee was still lecturing while dodging Sasuke's attacks. "It could be said that my ultimate taijutsu is the worst possible match-up for your Sharingan." With that, Lee knocked Sasuke into the air again with a solid kick to the chin and then jumped after him. "Kage Buyo (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf)!"

Lee was now soaring parallel to Sasuke's back. "I shall now prove it with this technique that hard work surpasses genius skills." Lee's bandages began to unravel and ensnare Sasuke. "I win!"

Before Lee could complete his move, a pinwheel cut through the air pinning his bandages to the wall. Naruto cursed, he had been so intently watching the match- or rather Sasuke getting his ass handed to him- that he didn't sense anyone approaching. He immediately deactivated the Jagan hoping the newcomer didn't see the teal glow through the headband.

"That's enough Lee!" shouted a red and yellow turtle with a VERY angry expression on his face.

Lee immediately landed while Sasuke continued towards the floor, his neck about to break his fall. "Sasuke-kun!" shouted Sakura as she moved to catch Sasuke. "Are you alright Sasuke-kun?" she asked with genuine concern.

'Even with the Jagan, I could barely keep up with his movements... I don't think even if Sasuke and I worked together that we could beat him...' thought Naruto. Meanwhile, Sasuke was glaring at Rock Lee's back.

"Lee, that technique is forbidden!" scolded the turtle.

'A talking turtle...' thought Naruto, his attention on Lee and the newcomer, not wanting to witness Sakura fawning over Sasuke, ensuring he was alright.

"I... I'm sorry! I hadn't planned on..." Lee tried to apologize but was cut off.

"Fool, do you think you can really get off on some silly excuse?" said the turtle disapprovingly, "You know well that a shinobi should NOT reveal his special techniques!" said the turtle. "Now are you prepared for your punishment?"

"Yes..." said a downtrodden Lee.

Watching the interplay between the genin and the tortoise, Naruto came to a strange conclusion.

"Sakura-chan... Can turtles be senseis?" asked Naruto in a whisper.

Sakura looked at him as if he'd started sprouting tails, "How the heck should I know if turtles can be senseis!" she hissed at him.

"Alright," said the turtle, "Here comes Gai-sensei."

There was a poof of smoke above the turtle and Team 7 and Rock Lee were now looking at a bigger version of Lee. The man was about two heads taller, but he had the same bowl haircut and bushy eyebrows. "Ah, I can see the Flames of Youth burning brightly in each of you!"

"That guy is even lamer than the kid," said Sasuke with a bewildered look on his face. Had he turned to look at them, he'd have noticed Sakura and Naruto's expressions were the same.

"Super thick eyebrows... Super bowl cut..." was all Sakura could manage to get out.

"Those have got to be the biggest eyebrows I've ever seen!" said Naruto, "I think they might be alive..."

Lee turned around, rage and fury written all over his face. "Hey, stop insulting Gai-sensei!" he shouted at Team 7.

"With all these freaks showing up all over the place, how else are we supposed to react," shouted Sakura.

"What did you...?" he asked shaking a fist. Obviously Lee's infatuation with Sakura didn't stand up to the respect he had for Maito Gai.

"Lee, stop!" said Gai with a small smile on his face.

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" said Lee.

Gai's expression turned serious as he shouted at Lee. "You fool!" He then punched Lee in the jaw, sending his mini-clone soaring through the air. "Lee, you... you are..."

"Sensei!" said Lee as he stood up, tears streaming down his face.

"Lee!" he shouted with tears streaming down his face.

"Gai-sensei... I... I..."

"That's enough Lee, you don't have to say any more," as a sandy beach with a sunset appeared around them.

"Sensei!" Lee shouted as he hugged Gai.

"Lee!"

"Wha-," Sakura blurted out.

"Err..." Naruto grunted.

"I... I... Lost... To... This guy..." Sasuke stuttered.

"Yes! This is what youth is all about!" said Gai

"Sensei!"

"It's alright Lee... Youth and mistakes go together, forget about it." consoled Gai.

"You... you are too kind Gai-sensei!" sniffled Lee.

"Now, towards the sunset, I want 100 laps around the training grounds!" said Gai pointing towards the mysterious appearing sunset.

Lee straightened up, "Yes Gai-sensei!"

"Let's go!"

"Yes!"

"What about Chuunin exam?" asked Sakura, "There isn't enough time!"

"What? Oh yeah..." said Gai with a sheepish expression on his face. "Lee, Your punishment for starting a fight and attempting to use a forbidden technique will take place after the Chuunin Exams."

"Yes!" said Lee saluting Gai.

"The call of youth! 500 laps!" shouted Gai, striking a pose, "So tell me, how is Kakashi-sensei doing?"

"You're his rival right?" asked Naruto.

"He is my eternal rival!" said Gai.

"Yeah right!" said Sakura disbelievingly. Sasuke didn't look like he believed Gai either, while Naruto was a bit undecided. At first glance Gai looked like a moron, but after watching Lee pick apart Sasuke, he knew looks could be deceiving.

"If Gai-sensei says..." shouted Lee back, but he was stopped by Gai.

"Don't worry about it Lee, actions speak louder than words," Gai told him.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened as Gai simply disappeared. "If I'm not mistaken, my records is 50 wins and 49 losses, in my favor." Team 7 each spun around, surprised looks on their faces. "That means I am better than Kakashi!"

'His speed... It's incredible...' thought Naruto.

'He's... faster than Kakashi...' observed Sasuke.

"You see!? Isn't Gai-sensei incredible!" shouted Lee.

"Sorry about Lee, I swear by this face, it will not happen again," Gai promised as he smiled at Team 7, his teeth sparkling in the light. "You guys and Lee should be in the class room soon. He threw a kunai and knocked the pinwheel off the wall releasing Lee's bandages. Naruto watched as Lee re-wrapped his hand. He doubted the others noticed it, but he saw the scars and the callous' on Lee's knuckles. Even without using the Jagan, he noticed the hard work and dedication that Lee put into his training.

'He's a true genius of hard work...' thought Naruto.

"Good luck Lee, Later!" Gai shouted as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Kuso..." said Naruto more than slightly annoyed, "I have to find someone to teach me that..." Everyone in the room looked at Naruto oddly. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura could ever get Naruto's obsession with learning Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), though Sasuke had to admit he wanted to learn it almost as badly as Naruto, not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

"Sasuke-kun, I shall say only one last thing," Rock Lee said as he went to leave, "The truth is, while I have come here to test my abilities, I lied before... I am not the best genin Konoha has to offer. Though the strongest genin is most likely to be on my team. I have entered this exam to defeat him, but you are also one of my targets. Be prepared during the exam!" Lee said as he jumped to the upper level and ran off to rejoin his team mates.

Sasuke looked frustrated, so Sakura decided to try and comfort him, "Sasuke-kun..."

"Name and blood aren't everything are they Sasuke?" asked Naruto, his face the picture perfect definition of seriousness. He tone was even, as he decided not to look or sound smug, despite the Jagan's nudges.

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura.

"Shut up..." Sasuke growled through clenched teeth. "Next time, I'll beat him..."

"Sure... Although you just got your ass kicked..." said Naruto with a deadpan expression on his face.

"Naruto, you..." Sakura began to berate the blonde haired triclops.

Ignoring Sakura, Naruto looked at Sasuke, "Did you see it? His hand?" Judging by their looks of astonishment and confusion, neither had. "Bushy-brows must have been training hard... Day in and out. More so than any of us. That's all I meant."

Sakura looked at Sasuke her eyes filled with concern as his fist tightened.

"The Chuunin Exams... They are becoming more interesting..." Sasuke said with a determined smile. Sakura smiled as well and Naruto was now wearing a small smirk. "Shall we get going?"

The three team mates walked down the halls, towards their destinies, not knowing the path of darkness that awaited them in the very near future...

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_As I see Team 8, Kiba is brash and arrogant, Shino is cool, calm, and completely logical, and Hinata avoids confrontation of any kind. Thus, it leads me to believe that Kiba is more the 'mouthpiece' of the team, while Shino is the 'leader' and Hinata tends to try and mediate between the two of them. Thus dictating something of a sibling relationship between the three of them, as each take their roles of becoming shinobi very seriously._

_Kiba's personality would dictate that he brags a lot and tends to get overconfident, as seen in his fight with Naruto during the prelims. Shino would more than likely try to reign him in and keep him from making too much of a fool of himself and Team Kurenai as a whole. Thus Kiba and Shino would have a bit of a rivalry like Naruto and Sasuke in canon, except this one built more out of companionship than competition. Kiba and Shino are aware of Hinata's feelings for Naruto (as seen in one of the filler arcs) and are not above teasing her a bit. They tend to be protective of her giving the feeling of two older brothers looking out for their timid little sister._

_In the next couple of chapters, the prelims and the finals for the exams will be coming up, say Chapters 5 or 6. The only definite matches that will happen are Sakura vs Ino and Hinata vs Neji in the prelims and Naruto vs Neji during the finals, so I'd like inputs on matches you'd all like to see. The definite competitors for the finals will be Naruto, Neji, Gaara and Sasuke, so none of those match combinations can happen during the prelims. Also, I'd like inputs on who you think should make Chuunin._

_On a side note, my wife should be having our first child at anytime so there may be some delays in posting the next couple of chapters, but I'll do what I can to keep you all from waiting too long._


	4. The Rookie 9 United, Trials and Tribulat

_A/N: Hello Everyone! For those who have not been to my profile page, I'd like to announce that my daughter was born last Monday, May 28__th__, 2007!!! Fortunately, I was able to get this chapter finished on Sunday evening so I didn't have to worry about getting used to a newborn while putting out a new chapter! Well... Here is Chapter 4, so enjoy!!!_

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**Chapter Four: The Rookie Nine United, Trials and Tribulations**

It didn't take Team 7 long to reach the real room 301. When they arrived, however, they were greeted by none other than their sensei, Hatake Kakashi.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you made it as well, Sakura," he said lazily, reading his little orange book, Icha-Icha Paradise Vol. III. "You can now officially register for the Chuunin Exams." Kakashi informed them. At the looks of confusion, he continued, "This exam can only be taken by teams of three."

"But you said it was up to us whether or not we wanted to take it or not," said Sakura.

"Yes, I did," Kakashi answered.

"You... You lied?" asked Sakura uncertainly.

"Not exactly," Sasuke answered her, "It was your choice whether you wanted to take the exam or not. But he didn't want either me or Naruto forcing you to take the exam."

"Exactly," said Kakashi, who added after seeing Naruto's betrayed look, "Even if you two wouldn't force her into taking the exam, she would have felt as if she was holding you back, and thus would have felt obligated to take the exam to keep from doing so." All of them accepted this explanation.

"So... If only Naruto and Sasuke came... Then what would have happened?" asked Sakura.

"I would have prohibited them from taking the exams and not allowed them entry into the next room," said Kakashi. "But, each of you came here of your own free will. Well done, I am proud to have each of you on my team." He smiled, though you could only tell do to the curve of his only visible eye, and moved to allow them entry.

"Alright!" yelled Naruto, "Let's go!"

Kakashi watched them as they entered the room as the door shut.

"Wow..." Naruto said breathlessly, while Sasuke merely glared.

Sakura looked astonished at the sight that greeted them. "Th-There's so many... Is everyone here taking the exam..." Her nervousness only intensified as she glanced around the room, 'C-Could... They all be strong...' She was broken out of her thoughts by something worse than the killing intent concentrated on her team, or at least in her opinion it was.

"Sasuke-kun! You're late," shouted someone as they glomped onto Sasuke's back. "I've been eagerly waiting for you since I heard that I would be able to see you for the first time in such a very long time!" It was none other than Yamanaka Ino, Sasuke's other number one fangirl and Sakura's own eternal rival. Sakura went from nervous to enraged faster than Naruto could eat a weeks supply of Ichiraku's Ramen for free.

"Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!" yelled Sakura. Naruto just sighed whiled Ino shifted to Sasuke's arm.

"Oh, it's you Sakura, still as wide foreheaded and ugly as usual, I see," the bubbly blonde girl said to her rival.

"What did you say!" demanded Sakura. Ino's response was to simply stick her tongue out at Sakura.

"You guys are taking this troublesome exam too?" asked another voice, this time a boy with a pineapple shaped haircut who was standing next to a 'big-boned' boy who was eating chips. They are Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji respectively.

"It looks like we're all here!" said a fourth person. Inuzuka Kiba. He had a dog sitting on the top of his head by the name of Akamaru. They went everywhere and did everything together. Naruto remembered when he, Kiba and Akamaru, Shikamaru, and Chouji all used to cut school together.

"H-Hello... Naruto-kun..." whispered the girl of the third group. When Naruto looked over she quickly looked away and blushed. Naruto was puzzled by her reaction but he put it out of mind. She had always been like that and he didn't know why. Despite attempts to get her to open up, she would stutter at him when they spoke and she'd never look directly at him.

Yes, for all the perceptiveness the Jagan possesses, Naruto is still as oblivious as ever to certain things. Moving on...

The third member was as silent and stoic as ever. He was probably the tallest person of all of them. Naruto couldn't remember much about him, other than the fact that the boy had always been silent. His name... Aburame Shino.

"You guys are here as well... Troublesome..." complained Nara Shikamaru.

"So all nine rookies are going to take the exam this year!" observed Kiba. "How far do you think we'll go, Sasuke?"

"You seem awfully confident Kiba," said Sasuke.

"We've trained like hell, we won't lose to you!" stated Kiba.

"Shut up. Underestimate any of us and you WILL lose," said Naruto defensively.

"S-sorry, Naruto-kun... K-Kiba-kun d-didn't m-mean it that way..." said Hinata pressing her fingers together, still not looking at Naruto.

"Hey you all should quiet down," said a silver haired Konoha Genin. "You all are the nine recently graduated Rookies right? You all need to get it into your heads that this isn't just a simple field trip."

"And exactly who are you to be telling us anything!" demanded Ino.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto," he introduced himself.

"You're the guy who trains Haku at the hospital!" said Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura looked surprised, while the others looked confused.

"Ah, he a friend of yours?" asked Kabuto, "He has plenty of talent for medical jutsu. Especially without any formal training."

"We met him on a mission," Naruto explained to the others.

"Anyways..." Kabuto continued from where Naruto interrupted him. "Look around... The ones behind you are from Ame and they have short tempers. Everyone here is very tense because it's right before the exam. I'm just warning you so you don't get picked on. Though I suppose it can't be helped with you all being Rookies and all. It makes me remember the old me..."

"Kabuto-san, right...?" asked Sakura.

"Yes..." answered Kabuto.

"Is this your second time then...?" asked Sakura.

"No," replied Kabuto, "It's my seventh. The exam takes place only twice a year and this is my fourth year."

"So that means you know quite a lot about the exam, right?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"So that means you're practically an expert," said Naruto.

"But, he hasn't passed it," Shikamaru added, to which Kabuto looked sheepish.

"Very true," Kabuto said.

"Ahh... Is the Chuunin exam THAT difficult... This is getting even more troublesome..." Shikamaru complained.

"Then perhaps you'd like some information then?" asked Kabuto as he pulled out a small deck of cards, "These are ninja info cards."

"Ninja info cards?" asked Sakura.

"Put simply, I can burn information onto these cards using only my Chakra." as he said this he kneeled and placed the deck on the floor. "With them, I've managed to gather data on this exam for the last four years. I have around 200 cards." He flipped over the top card and they noticed it looked blank. "It may look blank, but there is plenty of information stored in these cards," He then started twirling the card underneath his fingers.

"What are you doing?" asked Ino.

"I've made them so the information can't be viewed without my Chakra, like this..." he explained as he made a one handed seal and there was a small puff of smoke where the card had been. When it cleared the rookies noticed that the card was no longer blank. Kabuto then gave a brief explanation of the purpose and politics of the Chuunin Exams.

"So, are there any cards with any detailed personal information on them?" asked Sasuke intrigued.

"Well, yes..." said Kabuto. "Is there anyone that interests you?"

"Yeah, how about Haku and Uchiha Sasuke?" asked Kiba. After all, that Haku guy had be strong if Kabuto spoke highly of him. Naruto said they had met on a mission, meaning Sasuke and Sakura also had to have been there as well. It was the perfect time to get some good information on the only member of Team 7 that was worth Kiba's time. After all, Haruno was a weak Sasuke Fangirl and Naruto was the dobe of their class. No matter how far he had come, Kiba would still be far better than him.

"Sorry, but I don't have any information on Haku, I only have information on prospective chuunin and Haku was made one about a week after he came to the village," explained Kabuto.

Sasuke smirked at Kiba, who looked frustrated at only getting half the information he wanted. "While you're at it, do you have any info on Rock Lee, Sabaku no Gaara... And Uzumaki Naruto," said Sasuke. Even Naruto looked perplexed at this.

"What gives teme? We're on the same team?" he asked Sasuke.

"Since we're already going to be looking at my stats, we might as well see how well you compare to me," said Sasuke with a smirk. "After all, names and bloodlines aren't everything." Naruto raised an eyebrow at this.

"Like he can really compare to you, Sasuke-kun," said Ino, "You were the Rookie of the Year and he's just a dead last loser."

"Don't underestimate Naruto," said a scowling Sakura. Ino had to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. Ever since the academy, Sakura had always been one of the first to put down Naruto, especially since he was Sasuke's self proclaimed rival. Kabuto watched with great interest as it seemed Team 7 had grown and changed the most since the three teams had interacted with one another, judging by the looks the rookies had on their faces. "He's a lot stronger than anyone gives him credit for."

Naruto gave Sakura a small smile, "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

What had changed Team 7 so completely that Naruto and Sasuke had a serious rivalry and caused Sakura to defend Naruto. Also, Naruto wasn't bouncing across the room because of the small compliment Sakura had given him. They were not the same three that were nearly at each others throats right after graduation. These were some of the thoughts that ran through everyone's minds.

Hinata frowned, as it seemed someone else had managed to see just how strong her Naruto-kun was. She was happy to see that someone else was finally giving him the acknowledgment he always craved, but she remembered Naruto's crush on Sakura. She knew that if Sakura ever returned those feelings, she wouldn't stand a chance. Then again, Naruto's crush seemed to be tempered a bit, so maybe... Just maybe, there was still time...

"It's rare to see a newly formed team on such a level as yours," complimented Kabuto, "Only the Sannin shared a bond that strong so early in their careers." Naruto grinned, Sakura blushed and even Sasuke smirked at the compliment. "Now then, just remember that the information on the participants of the exam may not be perfect. Never-the-less, I've burned and saved them all. Though it's unfortunate you know their names, it kind of takes the fun out of it."

"Here we go..." After sifting through the cards he pulled out four of them. "Let's see... First up, Rock Lee." He held up the card which had the picture of the kid dressed in the green leotard, bowl hair cut and bushy eyebrows. "He's only a year older than you all, but this is also his first exam. 20 D-ranked missions, 11 C-ranked. His team mates are Hyuuga Neji and Ten-Ten and their sensei is Maito Gai. His Taijutsu has increased very dramatically over the past year, though his other skills are abysmal."

Kabuto then took a second card placing it over Rock Lee's and channeled his Chakra into it. This time it showed a red haired boy with black rings around his eyes and a gourd strapped to his back. "Next up, Sabaku no Gaara. Hmm... Mission experience, 8 C-ranked missions and wow... A B-ranked mission as a Genin! He's a foreign nin and this is also his first exam so that's all the information I have on him."

'That's less that what we know already...' thought Naruto. 'I wonder what he has on me?'

"Oh wait... It seems he's come back from every mission completely unscathed..." Kabuto informed him.

"He did a B-ranked mission and came back unharmed?" asked Shikamaru astonished.

"B-but how... Even with..." Naruto stopped his sentence, but Sakura and Sasuke knew what he was going to say. Naruto had the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful demon in existence, at his disposal and even he had been injured, quite a few times if he was honest with himself.

"Well, now... Since you two wanted to compare, let's view the next two at the same time," said Kabuto. The remaining two cards were soon showing the pictures of a brooding Uchiha Sasuke and a grinning Uzumaki Naruto. "Impressive for a genin," said Kabuto looking at Sasuke's card.

"Uchiha Sasuke, prodigy of the Uchiha Clan and one of three Sharingan users left." Kabuto said. Only Naruto wasn't confused by this information as Sasuke had told him back in Wave that the man he wanted, needed, to kill, was his own brother. "Team mates are Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto, and your sensei is the Copy-Cat Nin, Hatake Kakashi... 8 D-rank missions and well now... 1 A-Rank mission. Not even Sabaku no Gaara has one of those under his belt." The other genin looked impressed. "Your Chakra levels are above the average genins and even some Chuunins and you can perform a C-ranked Katon jutsu. You're also one of the most skilled Rookies ever to come out of the academy."

Looking at Naruto's card his eyes widened. "Interesting...:" he said as he showed the others. "8 D-Ranked missions, 1 B-rank, and 1 A-rank. My, my, you certainly have been busy." Kabuto said impressed. "No known family, says here you entered the academy three years early, but failed the final exam three times. Couldn't produce a single Bunshin, but has mastered the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique), a B-Rank Kinjutsu reserved only for Jonin with high chakra levels."

Both Teams 8 and 10 were a more than a little amazed at the info of Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke's wasn't very surprising, though knowing your opponent has mid-Chuunin level chakra and hearing about it were two different things entirely. Naruto's, however, was astonishing as he had even more chakra than Sasuke and knew a Jonin level forbidden jutsu. Added to the fact, he had completed one more mission, a B-ranked one, than his teammates had. With both Sasuke and Naruto having that much power and skill between them and the camaraderie between the two of them and Sakura made them one of the most formidable teams in the exam. Naruto was relieved to hear that Kabuto had no information on him having the Jagan or his Goukaton jutsus, as he didn't want to reveal them yet.

"Hey, dobe, what's with the extra B-ranked mission?" asked Sasuke. Naruto cringed as he had not told either Sasuke or Sakura about the exact details of his graduation.

"Well... You see..." Naruto began scratching the back of his head. "I was feeling kind of down about not passing the exam, when Mizuki-sensei offered me to let me take a second exam. All I had to do was sneak passed some guards and get this scroll and learn a technique from it." Naruto explained, "Which I did, but I was found by Iruka-sensei first. Well, it turns out Mizuki was really trying to steal the scroll. Iruka-sensei got hurt fighting Mizuki so I saved him using the technique from the scroll."

"Kage Bunshin," Kabuto said, "So you managed to not only steal the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Tower, but learned Kage Bunshin in less than a day, while managing to defeat a Chuunin academy instructor. If you were the dead last of your class, then the rest of you must be incredibly impressive." The other Rookies, even Sasuke and Sakura, were gaping at Naruto.

"Anyways..." Kabuto continued on as the others began to get over their shock. "Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki and Oto, these are the villages who have sent many talented ninjas here for this exam. Oto is a village of a small country that has just recently come to power, so there isn't much information on them. Either way, there are a lot of powerful ninjas from a lot of different places."

"I'm starting to lose confidence..." mumbled Hinata to herself, Naruto, however heard her.

"So, in other words, the examinees here are all incredibly skilled and strong," observed Sakura.

"Yes, It's not just Lee and Gaara or Naruto and Sasuke. All the people here are top elites from their respective countries. It isn't going to be easy."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kakashi was thinking about his students who had just entered the room with the rest of the examinees for the Chuunin Selection Exams. Despite what he had told Iruka and Iruka's admission that he might have been wrong about his former students, Kakashi himself couldn't help but be worried about them. 

"Despite what I said about them... Those fearless kids have to be pretty scared right now..."

* * *

Sakura observed the other genins seemed to be affected by Kabuto's words. They all seemed to lose confidence in themselves. Even Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke showed no outward appearance of being the slightest bit apprehensive, but Sakura could read it in his eyes. Naruto on the other hand seemed to be shaking a bit. 'Even Naruto, the stubborn baka, is a bit nervous with all these people and the tense atmosphere.' That fact alone made her start second guessing herself as Naruto hadn't shown any fear in any situation ever sense he made the vow of pain after the fight with the Demon Brothers. Not even Zabuza could make Naruto back down. 'Though I suppose it's not too surprising, after all, even if all of us are genins, we're still just rookies...' She was about to try and raise Naruto's spirits when Naruto became a burst of energy and confidence. 

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha and I will not lose to any of you!" he shouted at the entire room. "Got that!?"

**

* * *

**

Kakashi, who was still leaning next to the door, smiled and chuckled to himself. 'Perhaps I needn't worry so much after all...'

* * *

"What is with him!?" Ino asked Sakura, pointing to Naruto. "What's the point in provoking everyone!?" 

"Don't ask me!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Well, who else am I supposed to ask!?" Ino replied, both kunoichi's glared at each other.

Only Sasuke and Kabuto seemed to notice exactly what Naruto had done. With a simple statement Naruto completely broke all tension in the room and the others completely forgot about their fears.

Every other genin was glaring at them.

* * *

"There is no way that guy could be like Gaara, they're almost completely different," whispered Kankuro to Temari. 

"Perhaps... But looks can be deceiving," she told him, "Maybe he only appears to be an imbecile to hide how strong he truly is." Though she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that fact.

* * *

Elsewhere, Team Gai was having a similar conversation. 

"What is he thinking?" Ten-Ten whispered. "He can't be that big of a baka..."

"He's burning with passion," said Lee to his team mates.

"Well, it does appear that he's in good spirits," commented Neji, "Maybe you didn't beat them enough Lee."

* * *

However, the Oto team was more than a little annoyed with the Rookies and the Konoha Genin named Kabuto. 

"Did you hear what he said?" asked the one-eyed Oto-nin, "We're just a minor village from a small country."

"Let's play with them a bit," said the raven haired female of the team.

"Yeah, they spoke of us as if we're just left over ninja," said the one-eyed Oto-nin. "Let's make him add this to his data..."

While the Oto-nin were putting their plot together, the Konoha Rookies were unaware of what was about to happen.

"'_I'm not going to lose to any of you' _that's big talk," commented Kiba.

"That baka practically begged everyone in this room to be his enemy," said Shikamaru.

"Naruto, what the heck are you doing?" asked Sakura as she hit Naruto on the back of the head. Then she noticed the glares everyone was throwing at them "S-sorry everyone... He sometimes gets carried away... No reason to take most of what he says seriously..." she said to the room nervously. "With the way everyone is glaring over here, I'm about to beat you up myself!" she hissed at Naruto.

"Shall we?" asked the spiky haired Oto-nin.

"Let's go," said the Oto cyclops.

Naruto's Jagan flared for a moment as the Oto-nins began to move. Only Sakura and Ino noticed it as Naruto's back was to everyone else. His eyes widened as the Oto-nin were headed straight for them.

Kankuro was about to pull the object off of his back when he was stopped by Gaara.

The spiky haired Oto-nin then proceeded to throw two kunai at Kabuto, who easily dodged them. However, he was placed in perfect position for the one-eyed nin's follow-up attack which was interrupted by a kick to the head from Naruto.

Each of the Rookies, minus Sasuke and Sakura looked surprised. Naruto had never shown that much skill. "Impressive Naruto-kun, but I assure you I could have taken care of myself."

"Even so, you're a Konoha-nin, and whether we're against each other or not in this exam, we ALWAYS take care of our own," Naruto said as he glared at the room, the Oto-nins in particular.

"You only got lucky because you attacked us by surprise," said the spiky haired nin.

"Isn't that exactly what you were trying to do?" asked Sasuke coldly, "Try something again and you'll find that you'll have more than just Naruto do deal with."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura were having a short conversation.

"He knew that attack was coming, didn't he?" asked Ino accusingly.

"W-What do you mean?" asked Sakura nervously.

"Don't play dumb Sakura," Ino hissed, "They were moving fast enough that Sasuke-kun didn't have time to react when he saw them and Naruto had his back to them. There is no way even Sasuke-kun could have done that! And that glow... What was up with that?!"

"I-I can't tell you," Sakura said nervously.

"Whatever it is he's hiding behind that head band of his is responsible for everything isn't it? The change of wardrobe, his and Sasuke being more friendly to each other, you defending him and him all of a sudden possessing all this skill when he was such a screw up at the academy, what the hell is going on Sakura?" Ino demanded. "He didn't even bounce off the walls when you defended him like he would have used to when we were at the academy!"

"Listen Ino, Naruto might be annoying idiot, but he's still my teammate and I will not betray him by telling you anything he doesn't want you to know!" Sakura hissed at her friend, "Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sensei already know and that's all who need to know unless Naruto says otherwise, so if you want to know about it, ask him yourself!"

"Fine, forehead-girl, I'll drop it for now, but I do expect answers," said Ino coldly.

* * *

"Quite down, Punks!" a loud, authoritive voice boomed out. Everyone turned towards the voice, their attention no longer on the Konoha Rookies, the Oto-nin, and Kabuto. "Sorry to keep you all waiting." said a man wearing a black bandana with a Konoha hitai-ite and scars all over his face. He wore the standard grey uniform the other test proctors were wearing, except he was also wearing a black trenchcoat. 

"I am the examiner of the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exams. My name is Morino Ibiki." said the proctor, "Now, don't think any of you can just do anything before the exam! Do you want us to fail you at the beginning of the exam?"

"I apologize, I was merely excited with this being my first exam," said the one-eyed Oto-nin.

"Well, I suppose now is as good of a time to say this," said Ibiki, "You are not allowed to fight each other during the exams unless given express permission by the examiners. Even if permission is given, you will not be allowed to kill each other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately, is that understood?"

He did a quick scan of the room to let what he had just said sink in. Then he continued on with the introduction, "Now begins the first portion of the Chuunin Selection Examinations. Turn in your applications. Then take one of these numbered tags, that will be your seating placement. After that, we will pass out the examination papers for the written exam."

"Kuso..." Naruto hissed quietly to himself, "A paper test..." He clenched his fists tightly as one of the proctors held up a stack of papers and smirked.

**

* * *

**

Rows of Chuunin hopefuls filled the room. There were test proctors seated at either end of each row, all holding clipboards and awaiting further instruction. As each of them took their seats Morino Ibiki scanned the room and smirked evilly at them while directing a very subtle amount of killing intent at them. Naruto couldn't help but admire the man and his intimidation tactics. He certainly knew what he was doing.

'I'm separated from everyone I know...' thought Naruto glumly. He was very depressed at the fact that he had to take a written exam as it had always been a weak point of his at the academy. He was mildly consoled by the fact Sasuke would have his own troubles with the exam but Sasuke always got some of the highest scores on the written exams at the academy, so he'd probably do fine here too. Sakura, on the other hand, was more than a bit of a know-it-all. While she may not be as powerful as either him or Sasuke-teme, her brains more than made up for it. 'What am I going to do?'

Several rows behind Naruto, Sakura was watching her blonde teammate on the verge of freaking out. 'Poor Naruto... This is the worst possible test for him... I wish I knew a way to help him...'

"Naruto-kun?" asked a small, timid voice. Naruto turned to be faced with no other than Hyuuga Hinata.

"Oh, hey Hinata," said Naruto thankful for the momentary distraction. Hinata looked away from him when he looked over at her. There was a slight pink tint on her cheeks. "What do you need?" he asked kindly.

"I-I just... I just wanted... I just wanted to say... Good luck, N-Naruto-kun," she said with a small smile, turning to face him slightly, "Let's do... Let's do our b-best..."

"Thanks, Hinata, good luck to you too," he said smiling, 'I didn't even notice her there...' he thought while mentally frowning at his inattention. He really needed to work on mastering the Jagan as its' powers seemed to activate at random.

Everyone's attention turned to the front of the room where Morino Ibiki was tapping the chalkboard with a medium length piece of chalk. "This first exam has some very important rules," he began, "I will not answer any questions, so listen very carefully."

Sakura looked at the man questioningly. 'Rules... And not answering questions?' she thought trying to puzzle everything out.

"The first rule, Everyone is given ten points at the start of the exam. The exam only has ten questions, each worth a single point," he informed them as he wrote on the chalkboard. "This test will be based on a points deduction system. If you get one problem wrong, you lose one point. If you get three wrong, your score is reduced to seven."

'And if I get all of them wrong... I'm down to zero...' Naruto thought grimly, he got a sinking feeling in his stomach. This would not go well for him, he was sure.

"Second rule, the pass-fail decision will be based on the total amount of points accumulated by your team," Ibiki continued.

'Kuso...' Naruto thought to himself.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled. "What do you mean your teams total points!?"

"Shut up! There is a reason for this, so just shut up and listen!" demanded Ibiki loudly sending a small spike of killing intent at Sakura, making her flinch back instinctively. "Now, let's move on to the next rule..."

'A-A reason?' Sakura asked herself.

"If an examiner feels that you've done something to cheat or something similar during the test, you will be deducted two points for each time you are caught doing so," Ibiki told them with a smirk, "In other words, there will be people forced to leave without their tests being graded."

'So there's a way to lose points without the test even being graded...' Sakura thought to herself.

"Those who attempt to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves," he said, "You are all trying to become Chuunins, if you are a ninja, you must act like a first-rate one."

'Alright... Calm down...' thought Sakura to herself. 'Putting Naruto aside, both Sasuke-kun and I should do alright... We'll just have to make up for it if Naruto gets a zero...'

"Also, if anyone on the team gets a zero... Your entire team fails," Ibiki said, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts.

Sasuke's eyes widened. 'What...!?'

"What did you say!?" shouted Sakura.

'Kuso...' Naruto cursed in his head. His hands already clenched tightly into fists. He felt the killing intent radiating off of both Sasuke and Sakura directed at him.

"N-Naruto-kun...?" asked Hinata quietly, a slight blush across her face, as she noticed his slightly alarmed and frustrated expression on his face.

"The final question will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins," said Ibiki. "You have one hour for the exam! Begin!"

**

* * *

**

Tapping could be heard all around the room as dozens and dozens of prospective Chuunin began filling out the nine questions on their exam worksheet. Everyone could be seen working diligently and hard at work save one person who looked as if he'd been told that Ichiraku's Ramen Stand was closing for business forever.

Sakura looked terribly frustrated. 'This isn't good... Even I can barely answer these questions... Naruto... Don't screw this up...' she mentally berated her teammate despite the fact she couldn't hear him.

* * *

'Kuso... Naruto better not choke now... We've come too far...' thought a frustrated Sasuke who was having his own troubles trying to answer the questions on his test to no avail. He looked at Naruto and frowned at his teammates frustrated unmoving form. 'This... Is not good...'

* * *

'I've gotten through plenty of situations like this before,' thought Naruto, furiously trying to think of a plan to finish the test. 'I just need to keep calm and focus on answering the questions... I just have to really focus on the easy ones...' 

Naruto's hands were on his head. He was on the verge of pulling his hair out. He had taken one look at all of the questions on the paper and realized he couldn't answer even a single one of them. His only option was to cheat and he knew that his only option was using the Jagan, and though he could still see through his headband with it, prolonged use would incinerate it and even if he only used it sparingly, and the glow from using the Jagan's powers would still be visible through the black headband. Naruto wasn't ready to give up his secret just yet as the revelation of the Jagan would lead to questions that only he could answer and all of those answers led to the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

**

* * *

**

Sasuke wasn't having much luck either. As he read each question he realized more and more that it was possible only Sakura could actually answer the majority of the answers on the test and perhaps the Hyuuga, the Aburame, and the Nara kids.

'This... Is a question involving gathering information based on indefinite conditions and physical analysis...' Sakura thought to herself. She suddenly looked up at her blonde teammate, 'There is no way Naruto could answer these questions... In fact, I doubt many people here, other than myself, could actually answer these questions...'

* * *

'Alright... Next problem...' Naruto thought, getting nervous, as he had already skipped over the first three questions again. 

'All of these questions are rather difficult...' thought Sakura to herself.

Naruto wanted to shrink inside of himself, his mind furiously thinking of ways to make a quick escape so neither Sakura nor Sasuke could kill him for failing the test.

Sasuke had a thoughtful look on his face. 'I see...' he thought to himself. 'I don't understand even one of these questions...'

'Bad... Bad... Very, very bad...!' Naruto shouted in his head, he was past panicking and well into hysteria, as he had read through the sixth and seventh questions a second and third time, trying to decipher their meaning. 'What am I going to do...'

* * *

'This system almost promotes cheating...' Sakura thought to herself. 'I hope Sasuke-kun and Naruto don't cheat... We should be okay, Naruto isn't as stupid as people make him out to be...' she thought with a small smile wondering how Naruto was doing on his test. 

Naruto's knuckles were white from the grip he had on his pencil. He was gritting his teeth as he re-read the eighth and ninth questions over and over again, hoping the answers would pop out at him. 'Stay calm... Deep breathes... You can do this...' He kept repeating the same mantra over and over in his head. 'Perhaps... No! I can't risk getting caught...'

Sasuke was looking around the room at the proctors. 'They seem to be rather cautious... It's almost as if they're assuming we're going to cheat...' He watched as a proctor marked down something on his clipboard. 'Someone was just caught... Getting caught was a two point deduction... But why only two points? Normally you'd be thrown out for just being suspected of cheating...' That's when Sasuke remembered Morino Ibiki's words at the beginning of the exam.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Those who attempt to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves," Ibiki said, "You are all trying to become Chuunins, if you are a ninja, you must act like a first-rate one."_

_END FLASHBACK_

'I see...' thought Sasuke as he reached an epiphany, 'This isn't a test of knowledge... The true purpose is to evaluate each person's information gathering skills using different methods of camouflage and concealment. See underneath the underneath as Kakashi-sensei would always say... So he only wants us to not cheat without thinking things very carefully... To be like a 'first-rate' ninja and not get caught. When put that way, the unusual point deduction system and the lenient two point deduction rule make perfect sense... So exactly what is being tested? Not being caught be the person you're cheating off of, or the examiners while still getting the correct answers... Naruto you can do this... Just think underneath the underneath...! It will cost you if you don't!'

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Naruto was almost shaking. 'Shit!' he mentally shouted. His hand began to shake. 'The only way I can do this is if I use the Jagan... Focus... Calm down...' Try as he might, it was too late. His nervousness overrode everything and he couldn't concentrate enough to both use the Jagan and fill out the exam paper.

**

* * *

**

Sasuke was already making his plan of attack. 'If this is a test of one's information gathering skills there should be at least one person in here that already knows all of the answers...' he thought as he scanned the room for his potential target.

He noticed Sabaku no Gaara was doing something odd with his sand, while Kiba seemed to be communicating with his puppy. 'Seems like that loser actually can understand his mutt...' thought Sasuke who hadn't believed anywhere near half of Kiba's boasting in the academy as Kiba's list of techniques had been quite small and his animalistic taijutsu was no match for the Uchiha Sekkendou (Intercepting Fist). While Kiba had been towards the top of the class in nearly every practical exercise, minus shuriken and kunai practice, he was no where near Sasuke's level.

The one-eyed Oto-nin, Sasuke noticed, appeared to be concentrating. When the man didn't open his eye when he started writing Sasuke figured he was some how using sound to copy off of his fellow examinees around him. Looking a few seats down from him, he noticed another examinee swatting away a bug. The fly then flew to the Aburame kid, who seemed to be able to communicate with it in a similar manner as the Inuzuka and his puppy. Sasuke remembered they were teammates as well. 'It would be best to be cautious around them... Even with my Sharingan and Naruto's Jagan, we could have a tough time with them if they managed to catch us off guard.'

The Hyuuga of the team wasn't as skilled as she could be and Kiba was a loudmouth, he was tough, but still a loudmouth, the Aburame, however, was nearly a complete unknown. Sasuke barely noticed the bug user in the academy and only knew a small amount of what the boy's bugs were capable of from what his uncle and brother had told him of the various Clans of Konoha. Sasuke was confident he could beat the Aburame boy, but he knew after his fight with Rock Lee, it wouldn't be easy.

Further study of the room revealed others attempts at cheating. Sasuke was sure if he could see some of these attempts, the proctors could as well. 'It appears that even if some one is caught cheating, they aren't deducted any points as long as it's a 'Chuunin Level' attempt...' observed Sasuke.

**

* * *

**

Naruto was by far fairing the worst of all the examinees. Thirty minutes into the test and he still had not written down a single answer. He was far too intimidated to try and cheat by normal methods and he was far too stressed and nervous to control the Jagan effectively enough to even try to use it to cheat. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't let go of his secret. 'Time is running out... My only chance is to cheat...' he grit his teeth, 'I just can't get caught as that would cause trouble for Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan... And... If I fail... We all fail...'

"Naruto-kun..." he heard a soft, gentle voice whisper. He hid his shock the best he could as he slightly turned his head and cut his eyes towards the pale lavender eyes of Hyuuga Hinata. She was blushing slightly, "I-I'll show y-you my test..."

'Why would she...?' Naruto thought, puzzled by the heiress' actions. 'Hinata isn't the type to try and trick people...' Naruto then whispered to her, "Hinata, why are you trying to help me?"

Hinata's blush deepened as she clenched and unclenched her fists. She was staring intently at her test, avoiding Naruto's gaze. "Well..." she whispered, even Naruto was barely able to hear her soft voice, "I..." she gulped, she began to sweat slightly under Naruto's careful gaze. "I-I... Just don't want... Y-You t-t-to... G-go away..."

Hinata gasped as Naruto looked at her questioningly and turned towards her a bit more, her blush becoming a bit more pronounced. Hinata was thinking furiously at what she should, or rather, could tell her longtime crush. "You know... The nine of us... W-We're the only rookies... And everything i-is s-so uncertain..."

"Thanks Hinata..." whispered Naruto gratefully, "I'm sorry I doubted you..." Naruto gave her a small smile, to which she looked down sharply continuing to blush. 'Looks like we're saved...' he thought, relieved he wouldn't be the one holding back Sasuke and Sakura.

Hinata subtly shifted her paper towards Naruto, who was shooting quick glances at it. Before Naruto could get a good look at the paper, however, a kunai whizzed in front of his face, grazing the tip of his nose.

Hinata and Naruto looked behind them as the kunai imbedded itself in the test paper of the guy sitting behind them. "What is the meaning of this!" He shouted, obviously freaked out as he stood.

A spiky haired proctor- who Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all noticed looked awfully similar to the kid who was pushing around Rock Lee and attacked Sasuke earlier- smirked , "You screwed up five times... You fail..."

"What!?" he shouted.

"Take your teammates and get out of here!" the spiky haired proctor ordered. "Now."

His teammate stood up as the Chuunin hopeful stood there in shock. In the seat in front of him, Naruto was wide-eyed and nearly hyperventilating. He flinched when he heard the next words. "Number 23, fail. Numbers 43 and 17... Fail!" Naruto then began to look around the room as others stood up and left.

Two proctors dragged out one Genin who was refusing to leave, while a Suna Genin stood up and furiously demanded if they had any proof he had cheated five times. "Can you really expect us to believe you are capable of watching over this many people?!" He disappeared in a blur as a Konoha-nin elbowed him in the neck and forced him to a wall. He had bandages covering the upper part of his head and a hitai-ite over where his eyes would be.

"Listen up, we are the Chuunins that were chosen to watch over you punks during this part of the exam," he said tauntingly, "We are the Elites, so to say... So we don't miss even a single thing you do... My strength is more than enough proof." he said confidently as he released the Suna-nin, who immediately slumped to the floor, gasping for air. Naruto was paralyzed in fear.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered to him getting the blonde haired Genin's attention. "Hurry... Look..."

Naruto then began to become ultra self-conscious of his surroundings. It took great effort not to flinch back, as if burned, when one of the proctors looked in his direction.

"Hinata... I can't..." he said softly, "Besides, a great ninja like me doesn't need to cheat..." he said with a small fake smile that, though he didn't know it, she saw straight through.

"B-but... Naruto-kun..." Hinata tried to reason with him.

"I can't let you get into trouble for helping me cheat," he said seriously,.

Hinata stifled a gasp as her blush deepened. 'Naruto-kun!' she thought, She sat there staring at him for a few moments, lost in her own world when she finally remembered where they were. "I-I'm s-s-sorry... I d-did something unnecessary..."

Naruto chuckled a bit, "Don't worry about it... Thanks anyway... Hinata-chan..." he whispered. He then looked at his still blank test, mentally berating himself for being incredibly stupid. Had he not been so focused on himself and trying to figure out what he was going to do, he missed Hinata's reaction.

Her face was completely red and it was taking insane amounts of will power to not faint in Naruto's presence. 'He c-called me H-Hinata-chan... a-and doesn't w-want me t-to get in trouble...'

'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!!!' Was the mantra that kept running through Naruto's head.

**

* * *

**

Around the room, others began furiously working on their test. Sakura began breaking down and calculating each problem, while Hyuuga Neji activated his Byakugan and Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

'I just need to copy his every movement...' thought Sasuke as he intently watched his target and furiously filling out his test. 'My hand is moving without hesitation,' he smirked, 'I got him right away...'

**

* * *

**

Several rows back from Sakura, she was being watched by her long time rival, Yamanaka Ino. Ino smirked, 'It looks like Sakura is about finished... I can't help but acknowledge that the wideness of the forehead of hers and intelligence are incredible.' thought Ino, 'You should be thankful for being my target for this technique...' The blonde haired, purple clad kunoichi then did a few hand seals. 'Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique)!' Her spirit seemed to fly out of her body and straight into Sakura's. Ino slumped onto her paper.

The only one who seemed to catch the movement was quite a few seats down from Sakura. 'Looks like Ino used that jutsu... How troublesome... Better finish this test or Ino will become even more troublesome than my kaa-san...'

Chouji, who also wasn't too far away, thought to himself. 'Just can't beat that technique of Ino's... Now I just have to wait for Shikamaru to do his thing...'

Sakura then confidently smirked, a look very reminiscent of Yamanaka Ino. 'Sakura, I've slipped myself into your mind for a while, now I just need to quickly get the answers. Figures she'd be able to answer all these questions...'

"Number 59 fail!" shouted one proctor.

"Numbers 33 and 9, Fail!" shouted another.

'That's the thirteenth team that's failed...' thought Kabuto as he continued answering the questions on his test.

"Forty One, Fail!" shouted a proctor. Ibiki just stood in the front of the room impassively as the babysitters began failing more and more Chuunin hopefuls. "Numbers 35 and 62, Fail!"

Ibiki couldn't help but be impress by the way the Suna-nin, Gaara, was handling himself. He then remember that Hatake Kakashi had said about the kid also being a Jinchuuriki like the Uzumaki kid. Taking a quick glance at the said Genin, Ibiki was far from impressed. The kid looked as if he had an aneurism. He looked as if he'd break under the strain of the pressure at any moment. He couldn't help but think Kakashi's unwavering faith in his team was a bit misplaced, but then again the Haruno girl and the Uchiha prodigy seemed to be having little problems with the test.

* * *

"Excuse me!" said a Suna Chuunin hopeful. He wore a black jumpsuit with cat ears and a good deal of face paint. "I need to go to the bathroom!" 

A proctor stood and handcuffed Kankuro, "As the rules state, I'll have to accompany you to the bathroom."

"I suppose that makes sense," said Kankuro as he was led out of the room. Gaara merely grunted at his older brother's minor disruption.

* * *

'Kuso... 40 minutes have passed...' Thought Naruto intensely watching the clock. His test was still blank. '20 minutes left... I don't have a choice but to bet everything on the answer of the final question...' 

Morino Ibiki smirked at the remaining teams. "Looks like we've dropped all of the incompetent ones... I will now give you the final question..."

Naruto gripped tightly onto his pencil. 'I-I can do this... All or n-nothing...'

'Took long enough,' thought Sasuke.

Sakura looked smug, knowing that she could easily answer this as she did the others, 'Finally...'

Elsewhere, a blonde Suna-nin was wondering where her other brother was. 'Kankuro, you'd best hurry back... If he gives us the tenth question, you'll be unable to help us out...'

"Before I do, however, there's one thing I must tell you..." said Ibiki in a low voice, the tension mounting as he hit them with small amounts of killing intent. It was affecting them all more than it should as they were completely focused on him. "There is a special added condition to the final question..."

The door in the back of the room opened and the Suna-nin who had gone to the bathroom and the proctor he had left with had returned, just barely in time.

"You're lucky," Ibiki said to Kankuro, "Your puppet show didn't have to go to waste..." Kankuro inwardly cringed, while Ibiki just smirked.

'H-he knows about Karasu?' he thought to himself.

"Well, sit down," Ibiki told the Suna-nin. As he passed by his blonde teammate and sister, he dropped a small object next to her test, which she immediately, but subtly, covered with her hand. "I shall now explain. This is a hopeless rule..." Ibiki began to explain. Many of the prospective Chuunin looked confused.

* * *

"With our subordinates gone, it sure is quite boring..." said one Hatake Kakashi in a lazy tone. 

"I'm sure we'll be busy soon enough..." said Sarutobi Asuma, jonin instructor of Team 10, the Ino-Shika-Cho group. Much to the distaste of the third member of their little get together he was smoking a cigarette. He wore a simple Jonin outfit, much like Kakashi's, except without the mask.

"Oh, why do you say that?" asked Kakashi with a lazy drawl.

"The first examiner for this year's Chuunin Exam is Morino Ibiki," said Asuma with a small smile on his face.

Kakashi's eye widened momentarily with recognition of the name. 'So, it appears that the first exam will be a tad bit difficult this year...' He wondered how his students were doing at the moment. "So they had to pick that sadist, eh?"

"Sadist?" asked a beautiful woman with ruby colored eyes and a dress that looked like she was wrapped in bandages. She had a single red sleeve covering her right arm and both hands were wrapped in bandages. She was Yuuhi Kurenai, Jonin instructor of Team 8, the reconnaissance team. She had the Hyuuga, Inuzuka and the Aburame under her tutelage.

"Kurenai, you're still a rookie Jonin, so it's understandable you don't know..." said Asuma.

"Who is he?" asked Kurenai.

"A pro," Kakashi answered. "A pro..."

"A pro? A pro of what?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

Asuma sucked on the cancer stick, and let out a puff of smoke. "He's a Tokubetsu Jonin, whose specialization is Torture and Interrogation."

"What!?" asked a shocked Kurenai.

"Although he won't be physically torturing them in the exam, I can guarantee the kids are feeling a large degree of mental stress from his interrogation tactics," Asuma informed her. "He is... The ANBU's Torture and Interrogation Squad Leader. I can just imagine what they're going through..." he said with a small smile.

"Don't underestimate those kids... They're a lot stronger than you think..." said Kakashi, though he didn't outwardly show it, not even his one visible eye gave any indication, from the tone of his voice, one could tell he was smirking. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was Naruto that pulled them all through this first test..."

"The Kyuubi kid?" asked Asuma, both he and Kurenai flinched at the look Kakashi had given the smoker.

"He was the dead last at the Academy, certainly he couldn't have improved so much in so little time?" asked Kurenai.

"I'll admit, academically, he's still scrapping the bottom of the barrel, however, he always preforms best under heavy amounts of pressure and when he's being underestimated. I'm sure Ibiki is giving him both in heavy doses," explained Kakashi, "Naruto's guts, combined with Sasuke's inherent skill, and Sakura's intelligence make them a very formidable team. I have very little doubt my team will make it all the way to the final exam."

* * *

'A hopeless rule?' Naruto mentally asked himself. 

"First, you are all going to choose whether or not you wish to take the final question," Ibiki told them. This announcement shocked everyone the room.

'Choose whether or not to take the final question?' Sasuke asked himself.

The blonde Suna-nin gasped. "Choose? So what happens if we choose not to take the tenth question?"

"Simple," said Ibiki still smirking confidently, "Your test points will be reduced to zero and you fail, along with your fellow teammates."

"What's the meaning of that?" asked a random Genin.

"Of course we'll take it!" shouted another.

"Teammates also failing is bull!" complained a third.

"And here is another rule!" said Ibiki as he closed his eyes. The shouting Genin all became silent.

'What!? Another rule? What gives?' Sakura asked herself.

"If you choose to take the final question and you get it wrong..." said Ibiki, "You will...Forever lose the privilege of ever taking the Chuunin Selection Exam again!"

"What kind of crap rule is that!?" shouted the familiar voice of Inuzuka Kiba, "There are people in here that have taken the exams before!" Akamaru barked as if to emphasize what Kiba was saying.

Ibiki seemed amused by Kiba's outburst and started chuckling, "You're unlucky this year... Because this year is my first year as the exam proctor and I make the rules! That's why I'm giving you all one last chance to back out now. Those who are not confident can choose not to take the question and take the next Chuunin Exam, or the one after that..." Ibiki started laughing.

Sakura on the other hand, was quite panicked. 'So if one person decides not to take it, all three fail... If someone chooses to take the question and answer incorrectly, that person will never rise above Genin... Either way... It's not good...'

Naruto tensed in his seat, while Hinata gave him a worried look. The fear on his face was enough to make her lose confidence in herself as she knew more than anyone how Naruto never gave up, no matter how much the odds were against him.

"Let us begin..." said Ibiki, "Those who will not be taking the tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, you will be free to go."

'What... Kind of question is it? If I get it wrong I'll be stuck as a Genin forever... I don't want that! But if I don't take it... Sasuke and Sakura-chan will fail with me and I can't let that happen...' Naruto thought to himself.

'I'm not raising my hand, I'm confident enough that I can get the problem right,' Sakura thought to herself. 'But, Naruto... Please... Raise your hand... We can help you the next time...'

Suddenly the tense atmosphere was broken, the Taki-nin sitting next to Naruto. He had decided to not take the next question. This set off a whole chain of people who decided not to continue on. One by one, people started to get up. The proctor called out the numbers of their teammates and they left in groups of three.

Naruto began to become more depressed.

'Naruto...' Sakura thought, 'Why aren't you raising your hand?' She watched him shaking. 'He...' She thought back to his reasons for staying in the exam.

_FLASHBACK_

"_I'm the elite ninja who will receive the title of Hokage one day!" Naruto said with enthusiasm, "The name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!_"

_FLASHBACK_

"_SHUT UP! I am prepared to go through ANYTHING to become Hokage!" Naruto yelled in defiance._

_FLASHBACK_

_With a certain fire in his eyes he shouted, "I'm going to become greater than all of the Hokages! I'm going to make the villagers acknowledge my existence!"_

_FLASHBACK_

_Naruto stared back at the grave a moment longer, before speaking again. "All right! I'm going to follow my own nindo! I'm going to run straight down the path where I am not going to regret anything!"_

_FLASHBACK_

"_Just like I was to be seen as a hero?!" Naruto asked bitterly, "Like anyone really followed that request!"_

_FLASHBACK_

"_Tell me Sakura-chan... How would you like it if the man you looked up to more than anyone else, the one you respected above all others, was responsible for nearly every horrible thing that has ever happened to you?" asked Naruto angrily, "That even after all of that, you come to find out he was your own father..."_

_FLASHBACK_

"_Naruto's father... Was also my sensei... Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage..." Kakashi informed them._

_FLASHBACK_

"_Let me go, I'm gonna kick his ass!" yelled Konohamaru. "LET! ME! GO! I can't let him get away with making fun of the Boss!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the small boy's behavior, while Sakura looked shocked at the sheer amount of protectiveness and devotion he had for Naruto, while Haku merely smiled at the boy._

_Haku squatted down to Konohamaru's level and smiled. "I assure you Konohamaru-san, we do not wish Naruto-sama any ill will. He's just down from some things he found out today and we wish to cheer him up. Do you know where we can find him?"_

_Konohamaru calmed down visibly, enough that Udon and Moegi let go of their leader. He still glared at Sasuke suspiciously. Turning back to Haku, "I believe you, but... If you hurt Nii-Chan I will kick your ass!" His glare was mostly directed at Sasuke when he said this._

_FLASHBACK_

_Konohamaru was about to protest but Naruto quickly cut him off, "I promise, Konohamaru. I vow on my dream to be Hokage and our friendship, I will tell you eventually, just... not right now."_

_FLASHBACK_

"_Worry not Kakashi, he bares no grudge against you," said Sandaime, "Still, I think it's time to find Naruto and show him that you're still his friends. While you may not be the closest of groups, he has found a measure of acceptance with each of you and he fears losing that more than anything."_

_END FLASHBACK_

'He... He's always going on about becoming Hokage like an idiot... Always shouting about gaining acceptance from everyone... Wanting to be respected... So he... He wouldn't be so... Alone...' thought Sakura sadly.

_FLASHBACK_

"_The solitude..." Sasuke interrupted her._

"_What?" Sakura asked, genuinely confused._

"_The pain... You can't even compare it to the level where your parents get mad at you..." he scolded her. "You're annoying..."_

_FLASHBACK END_

'I'm sorry Naruto, I won't let you give up your dream... Not for us... Not for me...' Sakura sadly thought, with a determined look on her face. 'I'll help you achieve your dream... I won't let you throw it away...' Sakura hesitantly began to raise her hand when she suddenly saw something she'd thought she'd never ever see... Uzumaki Naruto, hopeful future Hokage of Konoha, was giving up. She watched in shock as Naruto's hand was shakily raised in the air. 'Naruto...'

Hinata and Sasuke were both equally shocked.

Hinata found her whole world crumbling. Naruto never gave up, he kept on trying long after others would have. He was brave and strong, everything she wasn't. Despite the cruel glares given to him by the villagers, he always pushed on with that fake smile on his face, never once giving up on his dream of becoming Hokage... If he couldn't do it... If he didn't have the confidence... Who was she to think she could carry on when Naruto was so much stronger than herself...?

'N-Naruto-kun...' she thought sadly.

Sasuke was certain he was seeing things. As much as he'd hate to admit it, Naruto easily had the potential to become his equal with the use of his kekkei genkai. He remembered what Sakura said about the power she felt in Wave Country, the old man, Tazuna even felt it. In terms of raw power, Naruto could easily top everyone in the room, all he had to do was refine his skills and learn to control that power. He felt betrayed. He kept everyone at arms length. Knowing that in the end all that mattered was your own strength, that family was a weakness that would only serve to hold you back. A luxury, a comfort he could not afford while Itachi was still alive. Without Naruto, how would he be able to gauge his own strength, his own power...

'Kuso...' Sasuke mentally cursed.

'Just as I thought... Just Kakashi overestimating his team's confidence and abilities...' thought Ibiki dismally.

* * *

"Ibiki, he... He understands human psychology," said Asuma, taking a drag from his cancer stick, "The scariest part about him, is that he can drive a person into a corner mentally, control his mind, and bully him. He can find a person's weakness and bring it to the surface." **

* * *

**

Naruto's hand balled up into a fist. Only Ibiki briefly saw the brief flash of the Jagan underneath the headband, as the other proctors were looking for his number and the numbers of his teammates. He involuntarily stepped back, but managed to hold in a surprised gasp. Naruto brought his fist down and slammed it into the desk. Making nearly the whole room jump and look at him in surprise.

"SCREW YOU! I'm not going to run away!" he shouted with an angry expression on his face, "I'll take this problem! Even IF I'm stuck as a Genin forever, I'll still become Hokage! I'm not scared!" he shouted as he stood up angrily facing down Morino Ibiki. "Believe it!"

Sasuke smirked. 'He definitely has spirit...'

'You just don't know when to quit, do you Naruto-baka?' Sakura thought with a small smile on her face.

Ibiki wasn't sure to be proud of the kid or bash him over the head. All of those who were about to leave were no longer even considering it. 'He's turned the whole room around with that outburst of his... Just like his old man...' He forced a scowl on his face. "I will ask just once more. This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit now, now is your chance!" He sent another wave of killing intent at the room, still subtle, but greater than the others he had sent out previously.

He and Naruto had continued their staring contest. Naruto smirking the entire time. "I'm not going to take back my words. That's my nindo!"

Ibiki scanned the room. The entire room was generating an aura of complete confidence, all centered around Uzumaki. He looked at the Jinchuuriki's teammates. The Haruno girl was smiling, and the Uchiha prodigy was smirking. The Hyuuga girl next to the vessel was looking at him with approval and awe. The Nara boy was also smirking in the corner and Gai's student Rock Lee had an uncharacteristic cocky grin on his face as well. Even the Yamanaka girl was looking at the vessel in interest. The only person who didn't seem affected at all was the impassive Suna-nin, the _other_ Jinchuurki of the group. Even the other proctors look pleased.

'Interesting kid...' thought Ibiki, 'He's risen all of their confidence levels... Wiped out all uncertainty... Seventy eight students... Twenty six teams... Far more than expected... Doesn't look like I should wait any longer...' Each of the proctors gave their signal, "Well then... Since you all seem so determined... Everyone here... PASSES!" he finished with a grin. He watched as each of the examinees registered his words. One by one he saw the looks of shock, disbelief and even anger.

Mentally, he counted down in his head, '3... 2... 1...'

"Wait!? What's that supposed to mean!?" shouted the pink haired Haruno girl.

_

* * *

__This chapter was longer than originally expected. I had originally planned to write the 1st__ exam, and go half way through the 2__nd__ exam as Orochimaru makes his entrance, but then I saw how long the chapter was getting and decided to stop it here._

_I know I followed the canon quite a bit in this chapter, but it was mostly to show that the effectiveness of the Jagan can be hindered by Naruto's state of mind. While the Jagan is sentient and separate from Naruto, they are also one and the same- a sort of symbiotic relationship if you will. As long as Naruto can keep a straight head in a fight he, with the help of the Jagan, can fight opponents above his level effectively. I'm not saying he would win, but he would put up a good fight, a much better one than canon Naruto would._

_Next Chapter, the fallout from the written exams, the introductions of Mitarashi Anko and the Hebi Sannin, Orochimaru, The Forest of Death and... The Dragon of the Darkness Flame!_

_I'm still open to match ideas for the semi-finals and finals as well as suggestions on who you all think should be made Chuunin at the end of the exams. I'd also like to know your opinions on who should make Chuunin this time around. Any ideas you have are appreciated and I have threads set up for them in my new forum called Ulimate Naruto, the link is on my profile page. So please review or check out my forum!!!_

_Until next time! Ja Ne!_


	5. The Forest of Death, Snakes and Dragons

_A/N: If I have anything to say about my own fic, it's that the chapter titles are Original and interesting enough. What do the rest of you think of them??? Anyways... On with the chapter. Snakes, Dragons and Curse Marks... Oh my!_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Five: The Forest of Death, Snakes and Dragons**

* * *

'Interesting kid...' thought Ibiki, 'He's risen all of their confidence levels... Wiped out all uncertainty... Seventy eight students... Twenty six teams... Far more than expected... Doesn't look like I should wait any longer...' Each of the proctors gave their signal, "Well then... Since you all seem so determined... Everyone here... PASSES!" he finished with a grin. He watched as each of the examinees registered his words. One by one he saw the looks of shock, disbelief and even anger.

Mentally, he counted down in his head, '3... 2... 1...'

"Wait!? What's that supposed to mean!?" shouted Sakura. "What about the tenth question?"

At this Morino Ibiki laughed. "There never was a tenth question to begin with... or rather, you could call your two choices the tenth question."

"Huh?" she asked, many others around the room shared her confusion.

"Then what about the previous nine problems?!" asked the female blonde haired Suna-nin. "Was it all just a waste of time!?" she was livid, as were others around the room in response to her question.

Ibiki smirked, the collective killing intent radiating from around the room was nothing compared to anything he'd felt prior from upper end 'B'-Class nins, let alone the Kyuubi no Kitsune. However, there were few exceptions being the Suna Jinchuuriki and a few of the other more exceptional Genins. Strangely enough, none was coming from the Kyuubi kid, who seemed to be in a state of shock. Ibiki knew then it would be a mistake to underestimate the kid like he had just done moments before.

"No, no it wasn't... The nine problems accomplished their purpose," he said looking out the window. He then turned back to the room, "The purpose of the test was to test a person's information gathering skills," he explained.

"Information gathering skills?" she asked.

"Yes, the true purpose of the test lies in the first rule," he clarified, "Your pass-fail decision is based on your three man teams. Taking that into consideration, we have given you the motivation to not be a nuisance to your team."

"Just as I expected. I had sensed that was the true purpose of the exam," said Naruto as if he'd known it the entire time.

Sakura scowled, 'Liar!' she'd thought, while Sasuke merely rolled his eyes. Hinata giggled and smiled because she knew that Naruto had not even jotted down a single answer. None of these reactions were missed by Ibiki who merely continued with the lecture.

"I'm sure many of you noticed that most of the problems could not be answered by a typical genin. I'm sure even some of you 'genius-types' couldn't even answer them," Ibiki said, "So I'm sure that most of the people taking the exam came to the conclusion 'I have to cheat to get points'. Essentially it was assumed nearly everyone taking the exam was going to cheat. So we planted two Chuunins who already knew the answers to be the targets of the cheating." The two Chuunin Konoha-nins smiled and waved to the others in the room.

Naruto smirked while leaning back putting his hands behind his head. "It was all too easy! Anyone could have seen through it, right Hinata?!" Hinata blushed at Naruto's attention and ducked here head down while pushing together her fingers.

Sasuke sweat dropped. 'He-he didn't even notice it...'

Ignoring Naruto, Ibiki went on, "Of course those who cheated like fools, were systematically failed. "Why? You might ask," he said pulling off his bandana revealing a bald, scarred scalp, "Because information can have greater importance than a life a times during missions and on the battlefield. The accuracy of information is contested with the lives of people.

"Th-those marks... The burns, the scars, those cut marks... He must have went through great torture..." Sasuke whispered to himself.

Naruto flinched back and Hinata subconsciously edged closer to him. Only Sabaku no Gaara remained unaffected by the rigorous torture inflicted on Morino Ibiki. "The information an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person, may not always be accurate. Remember, collecting incorrect information can cause heavy loss to both your teammates and your village. Thus, we made you gather information in the form of cheating." He told them as he retied his hitai-ite bandana. "We simply chucked out those who were lacking in that field during that part of this exam."

"I still don't get the purpose of the tenth question," said the blonde Suna-nin.

"The tenth question was the main question of the First Exam," Ibiki answered.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"The tenth question was a 'take or not take' choice," Ibiki explained, "It was a painful two choice problem, those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose to take it and could not answer it your right to take the exam would have been stripped from you forever... A very insincere problem." Ibiki walked towards the center of the room. "I'll give an example..."

"Say you have been made a Chuunin..." he said, "Your mission is the retrieval of a secret document. Your number of enemy ninja, their abilities and their armament are completely unknown to you. You may even encounter traps set up by enemy ninja. Do you accept this mission or not?" he asked them sternly, "Just because your life, as well as those of your teammates may be in danger, are you going to avoid the mission altogether? No. There are many missions that involve very heavy risks and can not be avoided." He paused for effect, "Your ability to show your teammates courage when needed and to get through even the worst situations is what we look for in a Chuunin, a squad leader. Those who can not bet their fate in a critical situation... Those who give up when given the chance because there is always next year... They have no right to become Chuunin because they are fools lacking in determination to do what is right over what is easy. That is what I believe. Those of you who stayed, who had chosen to take the tenth question, answered it correctly. You have gotten your foot into the entrance and I believe without a doubt that you can get through the difficulties you will undoubtably face. The First Exam of the Chuunin Selection Exams end right now. I wish you all good luck." he said with a small, proud, smile on his face.

Naruto began to celebrate, but before anyone could say anything Ibiki cut his eyes towards the window watching as a large object came right through it. Many Chuunin hopefuls shielded their eyes from the flying shards of glass. Kunai flew from the mass as it seemed to expand.

When everyone looked up from the chaos that had taken the room by storm they saw a huge banner with a barely dressed woman in front of it. She was very attractive and was a spitfire of energy. She wore a fishnet tank top, a barely legal miniskirt and a tan trenchcoat. The banner behind her read 'Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko is here!'.

"Listen up maggots! This is no time to get happy!" the scantily clad woman shouted, "I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko! Let's start the next exam! Follow me!"

'She... She just like... Naruto...' Sakura mentally noted.

Naruto was looking at Anko contemplatively. 'Something's... Off... Something with her chakra...'

Stepping out from behind the banner, Ibiki looked at Anko. "Your timing is a bit off..." he said in a huff of annoyance. Anko merely glared at Ibiki before turning her gaze back to the room. "The second exam isn't until tomorrow..."

"Seventy eight...?" she asked with a cocky smirk, "Ibiki, you let twenty six teams pass?" Now she was the one speaking in the annoyed tone while Ibiki was glaring at her. "I do believe you're getting too soft in your old age."

"We simply have an exceptional batch of students this time," commented Ibiki. Anko merely huffed in aggravation.

"Oh well..." Anko sighed. "I'm certain I will make at least half the teams fail this next exam. Just thinking about it makes me excited..." she said somewhat demurely. "I'll give you all the details tomorrow. We will be in a different location so be sure to find out from your Jonin senseis the exact rally point and time. That is all, dismissed!"

**

* * *

**

Hours later Ibiki was looking over the exam papers when he came across an interesting paper in particular. It belonged to the Kyuubi Kid. He frowned at first, tightening his grip on the other test papers in his hand.

"Someone actually passed with a blank test sheet..." his frown turned to a small smile and he chuckled lightly. "Uzumaki, or rather, Kazama Naruto... Definitely an interesting guy...

**

* * *

**

The next morning the Chuunin hopefuls were all stationed at the arranged meeting place for the second exam of the Chuunin Selection Exams.

"This is the location of the second exam," said Anko, "Konoha's infamous 44th training ground... The Forest of Death!" she said with a sinister smile.

"The Forest of Death?" asked Naruto.

"What a creepy place..." commented Sakura.

"You'll soon find out EXACTLY why it's called the Forest of Death," said Anko.

"Humph... As if that's enough to scare me. Let's get this over with, quit wasting our time!" mocked Naruto. Anko smirked.

"Well, you've certainly got spirit," she commented, before slipping a kunai into her hand and flinging it at Naruto. Naruto instinctively flinched back, the kunai grazing his cheek and whizzed through the hair of a nearby Kusa-nin. In a blur of motion the Tokubetsu Jonin vanished, only to reappear behind Naruto.

"Kids like you are usually the first to be killed," she said semi-seductively, "Spraying that red blood that I love..." A red scratch appeared on Naruto's cheek. A smirk appeared on Naruto's face before his Jagan started to glow beneath his headband. Ino who had been waiting for some sort of explanation caught it, as did Hinata who was looking concernedly over at her longtime crush. Kabuto also saw it and decided to file it away for future reference.

Anko's eyes suddenly darted away from Naruto to the approaching figure behind her. Drawing a kunai from her wrist holster, she moved to defend herself from her possible attacker, who simply held the kunai Anko had just thrown in her long coiled tongue. Before Anko could retort Naruto spoke up. His sword poking into the back of the Kusa-nin.

"It's not nice to just sneak up on anyone unannounced and it's foolish to let your guard down." Anko's eyes widened in surprise, as did many others.

"I was just returning the proctor's kunai," hissed the Kusa-nin. If Naruto had surprised her by suddenly appearing behind her, she didn't show it.

"Well... Thank you..." Anko said cheerfully, though she was surprised and furious that she was shown up by two Genin. At least one of them was a Konoha-nin. "Though, next time you sneak up on me like that, I will not hesitate to kill you, so if you wish to die young..." she left the threat hanging. She then took the kunai from the Kusa-nin's tongue.

"Of course, but I just get so excited at the sight of red blood..." she said, "Plus you managed to cut some of my precious hair... I really couldn't contain myself."

"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered worriedly. Shino gave her a quick glance, but gave no outward reaction.

"I apologize..." the Kusa-nin said as Naruto re-sheathed his sword. The two locked eyes for a moment. "My, my... you sure are an interesting one..." she giggled as she walked back towards her teammates. "Shikon no Ruujin... There is history in that blade... It's power is said to rival that of the legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi." Both Naruto and Anko's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but for different reasons.

'Her chakra feels similar to the taint that the examiner has in her chakra...' thought Naruto. This was something he'd have to tell Sakura-chan and Sasuke later.

"Looks like we have quite a few bloodthirsty ones in this exam..." Anko commented. "This should be fun..."

"You're the most blood thirsty one here..." Naruto mumbled, not intending for anyone to hear, but Anko had and she merely smirked.

"Now, before we start the second exam... I have to pass these out to you," she reached inside her trenchcoat and pulled out a stack of forms. "Release papers. If you wish to take this exam, you have to sign these first."

"Why?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Because there WILL be deaths in this exam, and if I don't have you sign one of these... It would be all my responsibility." Anko answered with a smile, "Also, it's less paperwork this way! Now, I have to explain this exam to you. To make a long story short, you will be part of the ultimate survival exercise." She handed a nearby genin the stack of release forms and they were being passed around to each of the Chuunin hopefuls.

"Survival... Troublesome..." muttered Shikamaru lazily.

Pulling out a map she began to further explain. "First, I'll explain the layout of the exam. Around Training Ground 44 are 44 locked gates. There's a forest, a river and a tower in the center. It's about 10 kilometers between the gates and the tower. During the survival portion in the forest you are to preform a certain task. Each team will be given a scroll marked either heaven or earth. Twenty six teams made it past the first exam, only half... Thirteen... will get the heaven scroll, the other thirteen will get the earth scroll. Each team will battle for the other one's scroll. You must make it to the tower with both a heaven and an earth scroll with every member of your team."

"So thirteen teams will lose their scrolls?" asked Sakura. "That means half the teams participating will fail."

"True, but there is also a time limit," Anko added, "This portion of the exam will last only 120 hours. Exactly five days from the beginning of the exam."

"F-Five days!" shouted Ino.

"Wh-what about dinner!" shouted Chouji.

"Sorry maggots, but you're on your own!" Anko informed them. "The forest is full of food. Scrounge some up if you have to!"

"Just watch out for the man-eating animals and poisonous plants and insects..." commented Kabuto.

"Ah, man..." Chouji complained.

"That's why it's called survival baka!" hissed Ino.

The pale eyed kid from before then spoke up. "It is highly unlikely that thirteen teams will pass."

"And as the days progress, the distance from the goal will become farther and farther," Rock Lee added, "And the time to rest will become shorter." He then gave a competitive smirk. "This will definitely get interesting!"

"And the entire area is virtually crawling with enemies..." noted Sasuke, "It is unlikely that anyone will get much rest in any case..."

"So, not only will people fail by losing their scroll, but also if they fail to arrive within the five day time limit." clarified Anko, "While others will perish under the harshness of the course."

"Ummm..." said Shikamaru raising his hand, "Are you allowed to quit during the exam?"

"As a rule, no, there is no giving up in the middle of the exam," Anko replied with a scowl at the Nara boy's question. "You WILL be in the forest for five days regardless."

"Troublesome..." he mumbled, while Ino was visibly restraining herself from bashing her teammate over his head.

"Now, as this is an exam, there are a few things that will get you disqualified," Anko continued, "First, if your team does not make it with BOTH scrolls at the end of the five day time limit. Second, if your team loses a team member through death or incapacitation... In other words if even one of your teammates is unable to physically carry on. And a final rule... You MUST NOT look inside the scrolls until you make it to the tower."

"What happens if you do?" asked Ino.

"For anyone who does... They will be in for a surprise, and believe me kid, you DO NOT wish to find out," Anko replied with that sadistic smirk that even made the most stoic Genin a bit unnerved. "There will be times where a Chuunin will be asked to handle classified information. This will be to trust your trustworthiness. Well, that's all for my explanations! We'll exchange three forms for either a heaven or an earth scroll over there," Anko said pointing to a desk set up nearby. "And then we will choose which gates will be your starting points and then you will all start together! One final word of advise..." she said with a sigh. "Don't die!"

**

* * *

**

Reading over his form, Sasuke watched as they put up a curtain around the desk that had been set up. 'I see... So you can't tell which team gets what scroll... Or even who on the team will be carrying it... Just as Ibiki said... We'll be fighting and risking our lives for this information...'

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere, Sakura was being confronted. "Alright Sakura, spill." Shikamaru and Chouji were following close behind, not wanting to lose track of their teammate who had gone off on her own without explanation.

"What do you want me to tell you, Ino-pig?" asked Sakura. "I already told you to ask Naruto!"

Shikamaru and Chouji glanced at each other in confusion.

"Just tell me what's going on," demanded Ino, "I saw it again when that crazy Anko lady threw that kunai at him! And that speed, since when has Naruto ever moved that fast, forehead girl!"

"I already told you, I can't tell you!" Sakura nearly shouted. "If Naruto thinks you should know, he'll tell you!"

"And that sword?" asked Ino, "Both Naruto and the proctor tensed when that nin from Kusa mentioned it!"

"I don't know about that Anko..." said Sakura, "But the sword belonged to Naruto's father."

"His father, but Naruto doesn't even have any family..." Ino said confusedly. Sakura mentally cursed herself.

"I'm sorry, Ino, but I'm serious, I can't tell you. I'll talk to Naruto and see what he says, alright, but I can't make any promises," Sakura said to Ino.

"Fine forehead girl, but I want answers and soon!" said Ino with a glare.

Sakura glared back at Ino, before her expression settled into a smirk, "I'll be sure to mention it while I'm alone with Sasuke-kun surviving in the forest for the next five days..."

That sufficiently distracted Ino as the blonde girl was simply glowering at Sakura.

"Well, it looks like they're back to normal, but I wonder what the fuss about Naruto is all about," wondered Shikamaru, "I know he seems like he's changed a lot, but there seems to be more than that going on. Troublesome..."

"Do you think it has to do with what that Kabuto guy said about Naruto and Sasuke?" asked Chouji.

"Perhaps... Though I doubt it... Or at least it isn't the only thing... I wonder what Ino noticed that we missed..." said Shikamaru before groaning, "It's just too troublesome to think about right now..."

**

* * *

**

Naruto,meanwhile, was wondering what the purpose of all the paperwork was for when he came upon a familiar face. "Hey, Hinata!" he said cheerfully, "What are you doing over there?"

She turned suddenly, her eyes widening, "N-Naruto-kun!" she said softly, "Umm... Well... umm..." she stuttered, a blush gracing her face. 'That wound...' she thought.

Thinking she wasn't going to answer, Naruto bid her good bye as Hinata pulled out a small container of medical cream. She became dismayed at Naruto's retreating form.

* * *

"Alright, it's about time to exchange for the scrolls!" shouted one of the proctors. 

In groups of three, each team moved towards the desk to turn in their Release Forms and retrieve their scrolls.

'I can't help but wonder how many of the teams will actually make it...' Anko checked her watch, "Once you've received your scrolls follow an instructor to your gate of entry! We'll start in 30 minutes!

* * *

"Alright!" Kiba shouted. As his team arrived at Gate 16, "This sort of thing is our specialty." He then noticed Hinata seemed sort of down. "Hey, Hinata, don't be going soft on us now!" Hinata looked a bit sadder when he said that and Shino simply scowled behind his collar. 

"Y-yeah..." Hinata stuttered.

**

* * *

**

At Gate 27...

"This sucks... But I guess we'll have to do this troublesome exercise..." complained Shikamaru. "Normally, I'd say we go after Naruto's team, but after what we've seen today, he's come farther than any of the rest of us. Not to mention Sasuke definitely isn't a slouch either. The only one we don't really know about is Sakura, but since Naruto's a lot stronger than he used to be, it stands to chance that she is too," Shikamaru said to Ino and Chouji.

"Hey, which one should I have?" asked Chouji rustling through his pack looking at each bag of chips.

"Baka!" Ino shouted as she bonked him on the head, "Pay attention!"

**

* * *

**

Over at Gate 12...

"There's just no way we'd possibly lose!" said Naruto excitedly. "We'll kick all of their asses!"

"**Shannaro!" **Inner Sakura agreed with Naruto, while Sakura merely smiled and Sasuke gave his trademark confident smirk.

From a nearby loud speaker Anko's voice was heard at each gate. "The second exam of the Chuunin Selection Exam begins now!" After she said this a loud horn sounded and each of the gates opened.

As Kakashi's Team 7 stepped through "Alright! Let's go!" Naruto shouted as they jumped up to travel through the trees.

A sudden scream stopped them in their tracks.

"That looks like it's started," stated Sasuke.

"I'm a little nervous..." said Sakura.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan... This is nothing!" said Naruto before the Jagan began to glow briefly. He closed his eyes in concentration, the Jagan glowing for even longer this time. "Listen, I'm gonna go pee for a bit..." Both Sasuke and Sakura nodded as Naruto went back into the bushes. It was several minutes before Naruto came back. "Wow, that felt great!" he said relieved.

Sasuke threw a punch at Naruto, knocking him into a tree.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura looked pleadingly at Sasuke.

Sasuke then charged at Naruto, engaging him in a small bout of taijutsu, with Naruto coming up short and getting knocked flat on his back by Sasuke.

"Hey, what gives!?" shouted Naruto.

"You're an imposter!" stated Sasuke.

"What the hell are you saying?" asked Naruto confusedly.

With a puff of smoke, Sasuke changed into the real Naruto. The fake one just stared at Naruto and Sakura in horror. "H-how... When..."

Naruto smirked, "The real Sasuke is behind you."

"What?!" shouted 'Naruto' as Sasuke chopped the back of his neck knocking him unconscious. As he slumped to the ground the Henge on him failed, revealing an Ame-nin.

Two more nins appeared from nowhere, grabbing Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted.

"Give us your scroll or the girl dies!" shouted one of them.

Sakura this time smirked, "Think again..."

The two Ame-nins looked at her in confusion as both of her teammates had matching smirks. Sakura then changed into Naruto, as did 'Sasuke'. Taking advantage of their confusion the Naruto that had been 'Sakura' elbowed both of his captors before poofing out of existence. The other two Narutos charged. They easily subdued one of the nins, but the other one was too fast for Naruto.

He didn't make it too far.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" shouted a nearby voice before a giant fireball filled the space where the Ame-nin had hastily vacated.

He jumped to a high branch before something impacted with his back, knocking him off of the branch. He barely managed to land on his feet when he looked up seeing a smirking Sakura on the branch he had escaped to. It was the last thing he saw as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"That plan was perfect Sakura-chan!" shouted Naruto to the smirking girl up in the tree. Sakura blushed with the praise.

Sasuke scowled. "Too bad they had a Heaven Scroll..."

"We can always keep it just in case someone else gets ours," Sakura offered.

"Less we'll have to deal with afterwards," said Sasuke in agreement. "We need to keep moving. Other teams may be here soon." Naruto and Sakura nodded in agreement before taking to the trees again.

They had traveled several meters before they came to a stop in a small clearing of forest. Sasuke turned to Naruto and Sakura.

"Alright, should we get separated, we can't trust anyone, no matter how much they look like us," said Sasuke. "Like we just saw, the enemy may try to Henge into one of us."

"So we should set up some form of password," said Sakura finishing Sasuke's thought. He nodded in a agreement. "That way if one of us is a fake, we'll know right away."

"So what do you have in mind?" asked Naruto.

"Make sure to pay close attention, because I will only say this once," said Sasuke, "First, one of us will ask, 'The ninja song, 'Ninki'?' Then the other one will answer with the following... 'It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts, even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down.' That is it."

"Got it," said Sakura. Then they both turned expectantly to Naruto.

"Err..." he said, placing his hand behind his head. He had the dignity to look sheepish, "Can... I... hear all that again...?"

"No, I already told you I was only going to say it once," admonished Sasuke.

"How could you not get all of it!" scolded Sakura, "Stupid baka, I already memorized it!"

"I got it perfectly!" Naruto lied, "I just wanted to make sure by hearing it one more time."

"Well, I'll hold on to our scroll a bit longer," Sasuke moved to get going again.

Naruto's Jagan began to glow, "Kuso! Sasuke watch out!" Naruto shouted grabbing Sakura and roughly throwing her into some nearby bushes. A large blast of wind then cut through the clearing, Naruto crossed his arms in an effort to block the attack he took head on.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. It was too late. She was alone in the clearing, relatively unharmed except the small scratches and bruises she received when Naruto threw her unceremoniously into the bushes. She looked around and saw Sasuke approaching her. "Sasuke-kun!" She went to rush towards him, but he drew a kunai.

"Stay back! Say the password first!" he shouted fiercely at her. "The ninja song, 'Ninki'?"

"Okay..." said Sakura hesitantly, she then recited the password to Sasuke.

"Alright..." Sasuke said letting his guard down.

"Ouch... That hurt..." said Naruto clutching his head, stumbling towards them, his clothing, like Sasuke's, had various tears in them and he was completely covered in cuts and bruises, more so than Sasuke because he took the brunt of the attack. "Sasuke, Sakura, are you guys alright?"

"Hold it, Naruto," said Sakura sternly as Naruto came to a stop. "What is the password?"

"Oh that!" he said scratching the back of his head, "Easy..." he then recited the password. When he finished, he had to dodge one kunai, the one from Sakura, and deflect a second, from Sasuke, with another kunai. "What the hell!" he shouted angrily.

"You made two mistakes," Sasuke said. "First being your greeting, the REAL Naruto, never calls Sakura anything other than Sakura-CHAN," Sasuke said with extra emphasis on the 'chan' suffix.

"The second one was the password," said Sakura, "No matter how much better or smarter Naruto's gotten, he would still never be able to remember such a long password. He'd tell us he forgot, and apologize, and then try to make up some lame excuse that he learned from our sensei."

"That goes without mentioning that you moved much differently while evading our attacks than Naruto would have. So show us who you really are!" Sasuke demanded.

'Naruto' gave them a very uncharacteristic, sinister smirk. Licking his lips, he said in a feminine voice. "I see..." There was a large explosion and a large puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, it revealed the same Kusa-nin that Naruto had nearly stabbed in the back earlier. "But, if you knew he was going to forget it, why didn't you make up a shorter password?" she asked them.

"I knew you were nearby, eavesdropping on our conversation," said Sasuke with a confident smirk. "That's why I made up the long password."

"Ah, so you didn't let your guard down..." she observed, "Looks like I'll be able to have more fun than I expected." she then licked her lips.

'Too creepy...' Sakura thought to herself. 'Where is Naruto...?'

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile,Naruto was busy pulling himself out of the indent he made in the tree. "Kuso..." he cursed. "I am so going to kick their ass when I find out who hit me..." He shakily stood up, "Now I just got to find Sasuke and Sakura-chan..." whatever more he was going to say was cut off as he noticed a large shadow looming over him. "Kuso..." he cursed looking up and noticed a large snake towering over him. He quickly pulled off his headband. His hair immediately spiked straight up, his Jagan opening and glowing a bright teal color. "If you think I'm going to be lunch you've got another thing coming!" he shouted at the snake drawing the Shikon no Ruujin.

The snake lunged at Naruto, who jumped in the air. "Jougen Kiriorosu! (Crescent Moon Downward Slash)" he shouted. The obsidian blade of Naruto's sword started to glow brightly and his descent towards the snake became a blur of motion. The snake moved fast enough to evade the attack with just a small scratch. "Kuso!"

The snake lunged again, and Naruto did a few one handed hand springs to evade the snake. Slashing in cross like motions with his sword he shouted, "Kousa Kiritateru! (Cross Slash)" Three cross-like waves shot from the sword, each were a direct hit, leaving cross scorch marks on it's skin. "Kuso! It looked WAY cooler when Hayate-sensei did it..." he mumbled.

Doing another back flip he was barely missed by the snake when it lunged again. This time, however, the massive serpent was ready for him and lashed out with it's tail. Naruto hit the ground hard, losing his grip on his father's blade. He stood up, disoriented only to see the snake lunging for him a fourth time and was successful.

**

* * *

**

The Kusa-nin pulled an earth scroll. Sakura's breath caught. "I see you want our Earth Scroll... Since it's obvious you three have a Heaven Scroll..." The Kusa-nin stuck out his tongue and wrapped it around the scroll and then proceeded to swallow it whole.

Sakura gasped at the sight.

"Let us begin..." said the Kusa-nin as she covered her right eye. "Our fight over our scrolls..." She then pulled down her eyelid. Sasuke and Sakura were frozen in place, as they both became short of breath. "By putting our lives on the line!"

The two remaining Genins of Team 7 didn't know what hit them as the saw various flashes of their own deaths splayed right before their very eyes. Blood was everywhere, kunai embedded into their foreheads, bodies mutilated until they were just barely recognizable. They were frozen in place, unable to move, and yet Sasuke did his best to fight the jutsu. Sakura didn't stand a chance. She immediately slumped to the ground, heaving.

'Genjutsu?' Sasuke asked himself mentally, before he two slumped to the ground and threw up. Sakura was getting her breathing under control, but she far from focused enough to care about anything else. 'No... J-just pure killing intent... I-I can't b-believe it... Just looking into his eyes, I saw an imprint of my own death...'

He turned to his pink haired teammate, "S-Sakura..." When he looked over, he was shocked by what he saw. She wasn't just paralyzed, she was petrified. Her face was locked in an expression of absolute terror, her eyes lifeless. He'd have thought her dead if not for her uncontrollable shaking and the tears streaming down her face. 'Not good... We... have to get out of here, or we... will die..."

**

* * *

**

The massivesnake coiled around itself to rest after its satisfying meal. Meanwhile, his 'meal', was very disgruntled about his current predicament. "Let me out! Throw me up!" he shouted while trying to stab the snake's innards with his kunai. It had minimal effect. "I knew I shouldn't have neglected to sharpen my kunai after I got that sword!" Naruto shouted angrily to himself. "KUSO!" Naruto was trapped, with nothing else to use. "NO! I refuse to become snake shit before I become Hokage!" He shouted this as he slid further into the snake's gullet.

**

* * *

**

The Kusa-nintook her time mentally torturing Sasuke and Sakura. Drawing out their slow and painful demise. "Having trouble moving?"

'She's going to kill us, I have to MOVE!' Sasuke thought frantically. He slowly inched his hand towards his kunai pouch strapped to his right leg. 'MOVE!' he mentally shouted as he drew his kunai and slowly attempted to stand. He had little success at first, but he shakily rose to his feet.

"What do you think you're going to do with that?" smirked the Kusa-nin, she was confident in her victory. She slowly walked towards Sasuke and Sakura. "Relax... It will all be over in a moment..." she said calmly as she drew two kunai. "You won't have time to suffer..." her movements were slow, deliberate, and exaggerated as she drew her arm back, ready to fling the kunai at the two Konoha Genins. "I had hoped to be having more fun... But you've disappointed me..." With a sharp movement in her wrist, she sent the kunai sailing towards the two undigested members of Team 7.

* * *

'Am I going to die here?' Naruto asked himself, 'I... I can't die! I can't fail them!' Naruto closed his eyes in frustration. His Jagan reopened, glowing fiercely, "If you're not going to throw me up, I'll make you!" he shouted angrily, "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Clone Technique)!" **

* * *

**Sasuke was breathing hard, kunai stuck in his leg, Sakura was sitting in front of him, still motionless from the terror they had just experienced. He grunted in pain as he ripped out the kunai, this seemed to bring Sakura out of her trance. "Sasuke-kun!" she gasped.**

* * *

**

The snake exploded as hundreds of Narutos flew out of it covered in all sorts of bodily fluids. As one, they poofed out of existence. "Kuso, I loved this jacket too..." he complained as he rid himself of the slimy, smelly garb. "Gross... Now to find Sasuke and Sakura-chan..." He closed his eyes and scanned around him using the Jagan in an attempt to locate their chakra signatures. He cursed when he found them, he hoped he wouldn't be too late as he took to the trees to help out two of his only true friends.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun..." she said, a small tremor in her voice. "Are you o-" 

Anything she was about to say was cut off as Sasuke covered her mouth to silence her. She'd never seen Sasuke like this. Even Naruto hadn't looked so completely terrified when they had faced down the Demon Brothers and had frozen up.

"We need to run... Before she finds us..." Sasuke whispered to her. "But... But how?"

Sakura noticed the looming shadow creeping up on them. She tried to signal Sasuke, but he wouldn't let her. He was too focused on other things. Finally, she ripped his hand off of her mouth and shouted, "Sasuke-kun! Snake!" He turned just in time to see the snake lunge at them. They both jumped out of the way to dodge.

"Kuso! Was I so upset, I totally missed the presence of a giant snake!?" Sasuke spat.

The snake continued to lunge at Sasuke as Sakura landed safely. She watched as Sasuke freaked out.

"STAY AWAY!" he shouted throwing half a dozen shuriken with enough force to not only penetrate, but completely slice through the snake's head. Sasuke was breathing hard as the Snake crashed into the lower branches of a nearby tree.

"You can't let your guard down, even for a second," the snake corpse said in a familiar feminine voice. Suddenly cracks began to form in the snake's thick hide and Sasuke and Sakura watched in horror as the Kusa-nin emerged from the deceased snake's head. "Prey needs to keep their minds cautious and run at all times in the presence of a predator." The Kusa-nin's eyes took on a psychotic look.

She began to snake her way towards Sasuke.

"Here, take the scroll and leave us," shouted Sasuke.

"Ku, ku, ku, ku... " the Kusa-nin chuckled. She prepared to catch the scroll as Sasuke hurled it toward him. Suddenly Kusa-nin was struck by several black and orange fireballs and doused in flames, while a very enraged Naruto landed in between them. His normally laughing sapphire blue eyes were now a steely blue color and slitted in the center. He had managed to intercept the Heaven scroll in Sasuke's possession.

"Sorry I'm late, I had a dinner plans I couldn't get away from," said Naruto as he landed. A relieved look graced Sakura's features. He turned to Sasuke, "What the hell do you think you're doing, teme!?" yelled Naruto at his teammate.

"He was more powerful than we are, I had no choice!" yelled Sasuke.

"And what made you think he was just going to let you go after you gave up the damn scroll!" shouted Naruto.

"Ku, ku, ku! Quite observant of you Uzumaki... " said the Kusa-nin he voice becoming more raspy and masculine. "So my little pet didn't finish you off. I must admit though, you did take me by surprise... It's rare to see anyone use the Mortal Flame... You've impressed me Naruto-kun... I'm quite surprised your still standing with the amount of control and power it takes to effectively use it in close range taijutsu, never mind the skill it takes to use it in long range ninjutsu... "

"You'll find I'm just full of surprises Hebi-teme!" shouted Naruto defiantly.

The Kusa-nin chuckled some more, "Perhaps you'll entertain me more than the Uchiha prodigy... Be warned, no matter how good you think you are, I am far above your level. After all, I am one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru!" he introduced himself to Naruto.

"I don't care if you were the Kyuubi's mistress!" shouted Naruto as his hair spiked up and his Jagan slowly opened. When it was completely open it was glowing brighter than it ever had. "I will not let you harm my friends!"

Orochimaru's eyes widened. "Th-the J-J-Jagan! I thought that accursed bloodline was wiped out by the Kyuubi!" he exclaimed, then he realized who he had to be talking to. The Jagan in conjunction with the slitted eyes, it could only be one person, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. "You truly are the Yondaime's Legacy aren't you Naruto-kun? No matter, that freakish damnable eye is nothing compared to my power!" Orochimaru started chuckling again, but then suddenly stopped.

Naruto started to change. He nails elongated into claws and his whisker marks widened. His canines became more pronounced and his spiky hair style became even more wilder and untamed. His slitted blue eyes then turned blood red and the glow of the Jagan turned from teal to an orangish red. He then crouched low as he prepared to draw his sword, and let out a low, but menacing growl.

As she watched all this from below, Sakura couldn't help but mentally praise Kakashi-sensei from stopping her from insulting the Jagan as they were returning from Wave Country as the feel of the killing intent Naruto was maintaining was far greater than anything she felt on the bridge.

Sasuke's predicament wasn't much better. Orochimaru's killing intent was enough to freeze him in place and make him feel helpless, but what he was feeling from Naruto was too overwhelming. Sasuke immediately fell to his knees and then began to back away from Naruto.

"What's the matter, afraid scaredy cat!?" asked Naruto as he glared back at Sasuke.

"Sen'eitajashu (Hidden Shadow Many Snakes Hand)!" shouted Orochimaru using Naruto's distraction to his advantage. Sasuke barely managed to dodge the dozens of snakes that shot out of Orochimaru's sleeves. Naruto however, phased out of view and then suddenly reappeared running on top of the snakes. Orochimaru had a shocked look on his face as Naruto sliced his face in half. However, Naruto's victory was short lived as the Snake Sannin and his snakes turned into mud.

"Kuso!" cursed Naruto. Suddenly the Jagan flared and he jumped out of the way as a gigantic snake, even larger than the one he had killed, attacked him. "Is this all you got Hebi-teme!" He stood in front of the snake, his sword drawn, ready to attack or defend at a moments notice.

The snake's head turned and suddenly it went straight for a frozen Sasuke.

Sasuke could only watch in horror as the snake came at him, its' fangs dripping with venom.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" shouted Naruto as his flaming fist connected with the side of the snake's head. The snake's head snapped away from it's target and impacted with the ground hard before vanishing in a puff of smoke. "Why are you just standing there, coward?!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto, but the affect was lost because all he could so was stand there and tremble in fear. "Why aren't you even trying?!" shouted Naruto as he cocked his fist back and slugged Sasuke in the face. "Snap out of it!"

Sasuke was angry. Angry at Orochimaru for attacking them and reducing him to that of a small child, angry at Naruto because everything he said was true, and most of all, angry at himself for being such a weak coward. It was then he remembered what Itachi had said to him the night of the 'incident'.

Sakura could only stare in awe at the battle above her. It was well beyond anything she could do and far beyond anything they should be able to do, even if fighting as a team, yet it was Naruto, not Sasuke, who was fighting off a Legendary Sannin by himself. Seeing the current predicament for what it was, she could not find it within herself to berate her teammate for punching her precious Sasuke-kun.

"You are definitely an interesting character Kazama Naruto... But I can not allow you to further interfere with my plans, not even with that freakish eye of yours, can you stand up to my power!" said Orochimaru. "Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Ku no Tachi (Kusanagi Sword: Longsword of the Heavens)!" Orochimaru opened his mouth and a huge snake head appeared and opened its' mouth. It seemed to be spitting out a sword hilt. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it from the snake's gaping maw as it retreated back into his own mouth.

"Big mistake, Hebi-Teme!" shouted Naruto. He then extended his arm towards Orochimaru, palm up. Suddenly, a purplish, black flame appeared in the palm of his hand. "The Jagan may look freakish, but it gives me exactly what I need! In a way... It has a mind of it's own and it HATES disrespect. Insulting it is not something even _I_ would do!" The purplish black flame flickered and grew in size as the tatters of his shirt were blown off and his right wristband incinerated.

**

* * *

**

A large amount of Chakra saturated the air in and around the Forest of Death.

Various spots in the ground began to crack and then break as beams of dark energy shot up from the ground. The sky began to darken and lighting shot out of the sky.

Through out the area people stopped everything to witness the phenomena trying to figure out what was going on. There were, however, three people who knew EXACTLY had happened.

"Kuso..." Kakashi cursed in the Jounin Lounge as he dropped his copy of Icha Icha Paradise Vol. III. Everyone turned to him for an explanation as he hadn't even thought to mark his page. He sighed visibly. "During our mission to Wave Country my student, Naruto, awakened his own kekkei genkai..."

A shivering Kurenai turned to him to ask, "W-what type of kekkei genkai could cause all of this?"

"The one he inherited from his father," he answered her.

"I thought he was an orphan who had no idea of who his parents were," inquired Asuma. "Even with his 'condition', I doubt any of the clans would turn away one of their own..."

"That was the case until he awaked the Jagan," said Kakashi, "I admit I was more than a little embarrassed I had not put it all together myself until it happened..." Asuma, as well as a few the others in the room, gained a wide eyed expression, while Kurenai and most of the others looked confused.

"Then that would make him..." Asuma said, not quite wanting to finish his sentence.

"The Yondaime's son..." Kakashi finished, he and Asuma had begun to be affected by the intense feeling of the immense chakra, "And it appears someone has insulted the Jagan. I've not heard of one person who has ever insulted the Jagan Eye ever surviving and with Naruto's... 'Condition'... As you put it Asuma, it must be a truly terrifying experience."

"S-Something... Is coming..." said Yamanaka Inoichi unexpectedly. He was shivering worse than anyone else in the room and had a truly terrified expression on his face. "I-It's not the Kyuubi... B-b-but... It's far more destructive and just as powerful..."

Kakashi took a look around the room at the other Jounins. Some were more affected than others by the saturated chakra in the air. He frowned. "It appears Naruto, with the help of his... tenant... has awakened a new technique..."

"It looks like the more adept you are at reading chakra signatures, the more you are affected by Naruto's attack..." observed Asuma who like most was barely shivering at all. Gai was seemingly unaffected, but Ebisu, Kurenai, and Nara Shikaku looked nearly as bad as Inoichi.

"The Yamanaka family jutsus also deal a lot with the mind, body and spirit, so they are likely to be affected even more so by Naruto's technique, even if they aren't trained in sensing chakra signatures..." said Kakashi looking at Inoichi in his reduced state. "I wouldn't wish to be your student right now Asuma..."

**

* * *

**

At the Tower, two other teams felt the energy.

The first was Yuuhi Kurenai's Team 8.

"Whoever is putting out that strange energy has Akamaru even more frightened than that Gaara guy," said Kiba trying to coax Akamaru.

"My bugs tell me that that surge of energy is something made of raw chakra that is being summoned. We should be weary of such a technique, as I doubt even the Hokage could do something of this magnitude..." said Shino quietly.

Hinata was shivering quite badly. "I-it... feels l-like Naruto-kun... Yet, it f-f-feels wrong..." she stuttered. "I do h-hope he's a-alright..."

Shino furrowed his brow in thought, while Kiba merely dismissed the notion. After all, Naruto couldn't even do a simple Bunshin, how could he even hope to summon something made completely of chakra.

**

* * *

**

Elsewhere in the tower, Sabaku no Gaara raised his head and eyed the area from which the energy seemed to come from in interest. Temari was shivering, as was Kankuro, to a much lesser extent. Gaara however anticipated fighting a being that could possess so much power.

They shrank back in fear of Gaara because they recognized the bloodlust in his eyes.

**

* * *

**

Yamanaka Ino was not having the best of times at the moment. She had been reduced to a whimpering small child, clutching tightly to her teammate Nara Shikamaru. He himself was shivering in fear.

"What's going on Shikamaru?" asked Chouji, while he could feel the chakra all around them, it didn't affect him like it had Shikamaru, whose reaction was no where near as strong as Ino's.

"I don't know Chouji..." said Shikamaru, "It's strong though... No regular Genin could do anything like this... It would be far too troublesome to fight anyone who could do this."

"W-we w-wouldn't stand a ch-chance..." stuttered a whimpering Ino, "I-I d-d-don't know w-what's going on... B-but whatever I-it is... I-it's b-b-big..."

"We need to find some place to hide until this passes, Ino can't go on like this," said Shikamaru.

* * *

'Such a technique with no hand seals... If it weren't for the blasted Kyuubi, I'd make his body my next vessel rather than the Uchiha's...' Orochimaru told himself mentally. 

Naruto smirked seeing Orochimaru's expressions of surprise and fear. "This power... It's impossible to control... Once I release it, I have no say... I have the power to pull you into oblivion... I assume just my right arm will do... Kinjutsu: Akkiton: Myou Enkou no Doragon (Forbidden Technique: Demonic Release: Dragon of the Darkness Flame)!" Naruto started running at Orochimaru as he brought his arm back and thrust it towards the Hebi Sannin.

When Naruto charged at him, Orochimaru expected a variation of the Yondaime's Mortal Flame- a close to medium range attack which he could counter easily. What he got was a VERY powerful mid to long range attack at very short range coming at him. Though he managed to dodge dragon shaped purplish black flame, he did not escape unscathed as his right arm was caught at the edge of the attack and was nearly completely incinerated, and what was left was badly burned. The right side of his torso and right thigh were also minimally damaged. The tree behind him was completely demolished and even the Kusanagi had been damaged, the hilt partially melted and the blade was scorched.

"Heh, scared Hebi-teme?!" taunted Naruto, who was breathing heavily. Orochimaru had dropped to his knees in pain, just barely maintaining an upright posture. Naruto charged after Orochimaru. He was moving at speeds that even the Sannin had trouble following. Naruto then tried to draw his sword when he felt shooting pains traveling up his arm. He winced in pain and his arm jerked back from his sword.

Orochimaru, seeing the pain in Naruto's face and the delay in his follow up attack, moved to counter Naruto. Years of expirience allowed him to push back the pain he was feeling allowing him to fight the Jinchuuriki. He opened his mouth and stretched his tongue out and wrapped it around Naruto's ankle flipping him up into the air. Running through a series of one handed hand seals he caught Naruto with his tongue securing his arms and torso. Naruto struggled and kicked with all he could to no avail. Orochimaru noticed the seal on Naruto's stomach around his naval. Opening up his right hand small purple flames appeared on each of the Hebi Sannin's fingers.

'Gogyo Fuin! (Five Elements Seal)' Orochimaru mentally shouted as he struck Naruto's seal. Naruto screamed out in pain.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, "Sasuke-kun! Do something!"

Naruto's more demonic features receded. His blood red slitted eyes returned to their normal, unslitted, sapphire blue, his claws turned back to normal, and the whisker birthmarks became thinner, while his canines shrunk back down. His Jagan lost its' glow completely revealing it's own sapphire blue iris with its' slitted pupil and closed halfway.

Chuckling, Orochimaru threw Naruto into the nearest tree after confiscating the scroll the blonde Genin had taken from Sasuke and incinerating it. Naruto slammed against the trunk of the tree.

'He won't survive a fall like that...' thought Sakura frantically as she threw a kunai. It snagged Naruto's trousers.

"Say what you want about Naruto, Sasuke, but at least HE isn't a coward!" snapped Sakura.

Sasuke finally seemed to snap out of the spell of intimidation Orochimaru put him under. He immediately activated his Sharingan. 'I understand now Naruto... If I can't face down this demon, how can I ever hope to stand up against my own...'

Sasuke charged the Sannin, who had managed to stand up. Two of the best prodigies of their own respective times fought each other in taijutsu combat. Having only one arm and a damaged leg, Orochimaru quickly lost the advantage of close range combat, despite his conditioning to allow him to push back the pain. It was only due to many years of experience that he was able to keep up at all, fighting through the pain that Naruto's last attack had caused him. He jumped back and started using his superior speed against the Uchiha Prodigy. He spun around Sasuke at very high speed. Although, because his leg was damaged, he was slowed considerably he could still move faster than the Uchiha.

'I... I can see him...' thought Sasuke as he ran through some hand seals. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique)" Half a dozen fireballs shot out from Sasuke's mouth. The Snake Sannin was blasted with a direct hit. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted and then blew out a powerful fireball, hoping to turn the Sannin into an ashy corpse.

There was a shockwave of power and Orochimaru emerged from the flames nearly completely unscathed. "You're definitely _HIS_ brother. Your Sharingan has developed well, I'd almost say it is better than Itachi's..."

At this, Sasuke got angry and tried to charge Orochimaru only to be frozen in place again by the Sannin's killing intent. Orochimaru charged Sasuke and backhanded him against the wall. "Tsk, tsk... Not good enough..." smirked Orochimaru as he approached Sasuke's unconscious form.

Orochimaru was taken by surprise when the moment he grabbed Sasuke, the Uchiha prodigy suddenly sprang to consciousness and kicked the Snake Sannin into the trunk of the tree they were fighting on before throwing multiple kunai tied to multiple wires, securing him to the tree. Sasuke jumped back tightening the bonds.

Holding tight to the bonds with his teeth, Sasuke went through a few hand seals. He then grabbed a hold of the wires in his hand upon completion shouting, "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)." Sasuke then dropped to his knees exhausted, panting heavily.

"Sasuke-kun, you did it!" exclaimed Sakura excitedly, until the seemingly dead Sannin began to move, breaking through the wires that had previously tied him to the tree.

"Ku, ku, ku... It seems you're a bit more advanced than I had hoped, Uchiha Sasuke!" said a smiling Orochimaru. "Ten no Juin! (Curse Seal of Heaven)" Before anyone could react Orochimaru's head shot out from his body and he bit Sasuke on the back of the neck. Sasuke yelled out in pain as Orochimaru applied his seal. Sasuke slumped into unconsciousness succumbing to the pain.

"Kuso..." yelled the tired voice of Naruto as he jumped to Sakura and Sasuke while forming one handed hand seals, his right arm hanging loosely from his side. "Goukaton: Inochi Kaenhoushaki (Hell Fire Release: Mortal Flamethrower)!" He shouted throwing a weak spiraling stream of black and orange flames at Orochimaru that was easily batted away.

"What did you do to Sasuke-kun?!" asked Sakura.

"He will find out soon enough, our paths, his and mine, shall cross again when he begins to seek me out! Do not get in our way, and I may just spare your life." he chuckled has he left a battered and beaten Team 7.

"Naruto, he did something to Sasuke-kun!" shouted Sakura.

"I couldn't move fast enough... Not... Strong enough... yet..." he said as his eyes began to droop. Even now his Jagan was closed and the seals on his stomach had disappeared. "Too much... Chakra... S-sorry... Sakura-chan..." he said weakly as he fell face first in front of Sakura.

"Naruto!" yelled Sakura. "Oh no..." she said to herself. She had no idea what she was going to do. First, she had a beaten and unconscious Sasuke, who now had a strange seal on the back of his neck. Second, she had a chakra depleted Naruto, who was now shirtless and whose entire right arm up to his elbow looked to be completely burned. "Rest now, you guys... It's my turn to take care of you guys..." She looked at her boys sadly, her protectors. It was in that moment that she felt smaller and even more insignificant than ever before. She may have become a ninja for the wrong reasons, but she'd be damned if those reasons got her killed.

She looked at Naruto's still form and then at Sasuke's.

'What am I going to do now?' she asked herself.

_

* * *

_

_A/N: So there you have it folks, Orochimaru vs Team 7, and the introduction of Mitarashi Anko. Sasuke and Naruto are down, but are they completely out? I hope you all enjoyed seeing Naruto unleash the Dragon of the Darkness Flame!_

_Next Chapter, the end of the Second Exam and the beginning of the Third Exam Preliminaries, Ino will confront Team 7._

_Now if you're wondering about the affect the Darkness Dragon had on everyone it's simple. It's as sentient as the Jagan and just as destructive as the Kyuubi. Most people, however would have only felt powerful chakra unless they were attuned to reading chakra signatures or had some amount of spiritual awareness, then they'd have felt the pure destructive power of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. A great majority of people were unaffected by the actual presence of the strong chakra Naruto was putting out, like Chouji, Shino and Kiba._

_Although Ino can't read chakra signatures, she has plenty of spiritual awareness due to training in her families jutsus, much like her father._

_In my opinion people who could read chakra signatures would typically be your above average Jonin with tons of Chakra control. Hinata, being a Hyuuga would excel in chakra control and would have probably have learned, at least a little bit, how to recognize different chakra signatures. She most likely wouldn't be able to do this unless the person's chakra signature was incredibly strong. As for Shikamaru, he's a genius with an I.Q. of well over 200 so I figured his mind is more advanced and further developed than most, so he'd be more adept than others at reading signatures. Without training however, he is, much like Hinata, only able to sense incredibly strong ones._

_Kyuubi's chakra was just so potent when it attacked that everyone could feel the malice and hatred that fueled it. The Darkness Dragon has no such intent only wanting a simple sacrifice as tribute to its' summoning, but because it is fueled by Naruto and Kyuubi's chakra it is still immensely powerful, thus it could be felt to a certain extent by everyone was the extra surge of chakra was compress and condense the air around the entire area. It has a far less intimidating aura than the Kyuubi because it does not portray any emotion like the Kyuubi's undying hatred and thirst for destruction._

_In the anime, it was shown that Akamaru could feel chakra, as could Shino's bugs, even if the two boys could not, so it isn't that much of a stretch for Akamaru to be freaked out or for Shino's bugs to be going crazy._

_Team Baki was shown to be more advance than even most of the Rookie 9 and Team Gai. So it would be logical to think that Temari could read chakra signatures and to a lesser extent Kankuro as well. Gaara can not, but he could feel how powerful the Chakra was and thus is looking forward to facing a potentially strong opponent, as the stronger the challenge the more his existence is proven. Gaara seeks to be the most powerful, destructive force in all existence._

_**Spoiler:**_

_Only Naruto and people like him can use this technique as it is the result of human chakra mixed with demonic youki. So Gaara and Yugito would have the potential to use it, but as with the Mortal Flame, the chakra amount and control are immense (even for a Jinchuuriki), but is greatly reduced for Naruto due to the Jagan._

_Now, as the injury from the attack was the result of two different chakras being mixed, neither conventional med-nins, nor the Kyuubi will be able to heal this one. So for the next few chapters, Naruto's right arm will either be completely useless or he won't have full use of it, that is until he meets up with Tsunade at the end of the Chuunin Selection Exams._


	6. A Sound Attack, The Blooming Lotus and M

**Chapter Six: A Sound Attack, The Blooming Lotus, and More Secrets Revealed...**

* * *

Three days had passed since the fight with the Hebi Sannin, Orochimaru. In all that time, neither Sasuke nor Naruto had woken up. Sakura was beside herself with worry, she had no idea what to do for either boy. Sasuke had a fever and looked as if he was in constant pain. Naruto was dead to the world, the only indication that he was still alive was the movement of his chest as he shallowly breathed. The only other indication he gave that he was still amongst the living was the pain he seemed to be in whenever she touched his right arm, which was why the scorch marks he'd received on that arm were still there. Both of her boys were as alright as they could be, and hopefully, it would be enough.

Sakura, wasn't fairing very well though. Thus far she'd managed to evade the other teams still out in the forest, as well as avoid detection thus far. However, she was becoming more and more exhausted. She was desperate to protect the both of them, like they had protected her.

Naruto was the brave one, the hero, even if no one realized it yet. He'd taken on two of Orochimaru's snakes and the Hebi Sannin single-handedly and nearly beat him because the Sannin underestimated Naruto and the fury of the Jagan.

Sasuke was on fire when he finally snapped out of the spell the Sannin had put him under. He fought just as fiercely as Naruto, but in the end the result was the same and both were beaten soundly (no pun intended), though Orochimaru didn't leave without injury, injury caused not by Sasuke, but by Naruto. She had little doubt that even if they had all worked in tandem, instead of both boys fighting the Sannin one-on-one while she watched, that they'd have still lost.

She still wasn't sure if she could believe it. Even though she had witnessed the transformation Naruto had been undergoing, it was still difficult to reconcile the boy who was loud, obnoxious and always bugging her for dates with the brave, powerful, young nin who had faced down a Sannin. But, it came with a price, as it seemed the jutsu did a lot of damage to his right arm, damage that Kyuubi was not repairing, whether it chose not to or just couldn't, either way Naruto's arm would be useable for quite sometime if it ever to be used again.

The exhausted kunoichi began to slowly nod off. Over 72 hours straight with no sleep would do that to a person. She tried, she tried with all her might, but she just couldn't keep her eyes open. In an effort to keep awake, she replaced the cold rag she had one Sasuke's forehead.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw quick movements scurrying about. Reacting instinctively she threw a kunai with expert precision that would have impressed both Haku and Sasuke. She had just barely missed a scampering squirrel. Terrified, the squirrel scampered away.

* * *

Seemingly unknownst to the pink haired kunoichi, a trio of Oto-nins were watching her every move. One with spiky haired turned to the one whose head was wrapped in bandages with the exception of one eye. "Do you think she saw the exploding tag?" he asked in low tones. 

"She's exhausted, so it's doubtful, but it would be unwise to underestimate her, Zaku," said the one-eye.

"What can a pathetic little girl like that do? You worry too much Dosu," said the brunette girl of the group.

"A weak opponent can always take down an overconfident one, no matter how much stronger or more skilled they are if they allow themselves to lower their guard," reprimanded Dosu.

"Whatever, I say we toss aside the little girl and dispose of the Uchiha like Orochimaru-sama ordered us to," the girl replied.

"All in good time, have patience Kin," Dosu told her.

"Why? They're weak and she's tired, the timing couldn't be anymore perfect!" snapped Zaku.

"And that's why I'm the leader, baka," Dosu snapped back, "Go charging in there and whatever traps she may have set that you blatantly ignored will cut you down in moments. Worry not, we shall make our move soon enough, as you said before, the other two are weak and she's exhausted, they aren't going anywhere from quite sometime."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Haruno Sakura was nodding off on watch. Her emerald eyes slowly drooping lower and lower. She had nearly passed out from pure exhaustion when a chuckle and a cold voice sliced through the air.

"Not sleeping and keeping watch all this time... That can't be healthy..." Sakura gasped and jumped a bit in surprise. She quickly spun around and saw the Oto-nins that had attacked Kabuto before the written exam. "Wake up Sasuke-kun..." the one-eyed nin ordered Sakura. "We want to fight him."

"What do you mean? Why are you attacking us?" she demanded. Her hand shakily reaching for a kunai. "Is Orochimaru behind this!?"

None of the three nins could hide their surprise.

"So he is behind this! What's with the strange mark on Sasuke-kun's neck? You still want to fight him, even after all that has been done to him?" she asked scathingly.

"Well then, with her talking down to us like that, we just can't ignore it now can we?" the spiky haired one asked with a confident smirk. "I'll kill both the weakling girl and that Sasuke guy."

As he stood up, Sakura tensed, ready to defend her boys from the Oto-nins, though as long as she'd been awake she truly wasn't in any condition to fight.

"Wait, Zaku," ordered the cyclops.

"Why?" Zaku inquired. The cyclops didn't answer, he merely took a few steps forward.

"How completely unoriginal," he sarcastically scolded Sakura, "The color of the dirt indicates that it was recently dug up. Some of this grass doesn't even grow here." Sakura flinched as the one eyed nin revealed her trap. "There's no point to a trap, if it wasn't well made."

Zaku laughed behind him. "Ah, so she threw the kunai to keep the squirrel from setting off the trap!"

"Let's kill her quickly," the leader suggested as he, Zaku and the female nin jumped into the air, over Sakura's trap. Sakura smirked and drew a kunai cutting a nearby string, setting off a second trap. The cyclops looked up. "A log! So this was the real trap! No use!" He place his hand out and as he touched the log he made a one handed seal and the log exploded into pieces. "Easy, no talent what-so-ever!"

Sakura's eyes widened as the three Oto-nins drew closer. She stood ready on her feet, her entire body shaking with exhaustion determined to protect her teammates.

"Konoha Daisenpu!" came an excited shout. A spinning green blur knocked all three off of their trajectory path. Sakura closed her eyes instinctively. When she opened them again she was greeted with the sight of Rock Lee standing in between herself and the Oto-nins taking his Goken stance. "You three obviously do not have much talent either. You will have to work much harder."

"Who are you?" demanded the one-eyed nin.

"I am Konoha's Beautiful Blue Beast..." Lee said with a determined look on his face, never once taking his gaze off of his new opponents. "Rock Lee!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Sakura.

"I shall appear anytime you are in danger," Lee answered.

Sakura looked confused, "But you are our enemy," she said taking a quick glance at where Naruto and Sasuke lay.

"I told you before," Lee explained, "I shall protect you to the death."

"Th-Thank you..." she whispered.

"It appears we have no other choice," said the one-eyed nin as he pulled out an Earth Scroll, "Zaku, I leave Sasuke-kun to you. I'll take care of these two." He then threw the scroll at Zaku before he pulled his sleeve up revealing a metal bracer that ran from his wrist to his elbow with various holes in it and charged. Sakura threw a kunai at him, which he dodged as Rock Lee punched the ground and pulled a huge clump of earth from out of the ground.

"I can tell there is some sort of trick to your attack, but I will not fall victim to it!" said Rock Lee as the cyclops looked surprised at the boy's intuitiveness and strength. They stood there staring at each other when Lee began to unwrap his bandages. Sakura instantly recognized what he was doing as she had seen Lee almost do the same thing to Sasuke.

The Oto-nin charged a Lee again.

"He disappeared!" the one-eyed nin said as his eye widened.

"Kage Buyo!" Lee said kicking him into the air. Lee then appeared behind him. "I'm not done yet!" The Oto-nin began to panic and struggle as Lee's bandages began to bind him. They began to descend, head first, to the ground.

"Not good! He can't break his fall like that!" shouted Zaku. He then started doing hand seals.

"Take this!" shouted Lee, "Omote Renge (Front Lotus)!"

Zaku put his hands to the ground as Lee slammed the leader Oto-nin into the ground. "Just in time..." he said with a cocky smile. The leader then got up from the small crater Rock Lee left him in.

"No way!" Lee shouted.

"Such a terrifying move," said the cyclops Oto-nin dazed, "Even though I landed in the soft ground, it still hurt like hell... My turn!" he said pulling up his sleeve. He charged Lee, but did not land a blow. Lee, however, was still affected.

"Lee-san!" shouted Sakura.

"You're definitely fast on your feet, but even you can't outrun my attack!" said Dosu confidently. "The speed of sound is far greater than you can hope to imagine. You can't get everything through hard work."

Lee dropped to his knees. He tried to stand, but was unsuccessful and as soon as he did, he slumped back down and had thrown up as his ear began to bleed.

"Dodging will not help you avoid my attacks. Even though you dodged my fist, the sound still affected you," he said with a small chuckle. "Tell me, what is sound?"

"Vibrations," answered Sakura automatically.

"Exactly," he said, "When you hear something, your eardrums pick up on the vibrations of a sound. "The eardrums will shatter at anything over 150 decibels. It also goes without saying that a person will also lose their sense of balance." the cyclops chuckled, "It will be quite sometime before you're able to move!"

"That's right, simple taijutsu is ineffective against us," gloated Zaku, "It may have gotten a few lucky shots in for a while, but it is nothing compared to our techniques. From here on, things won't be the smooth ride you'd thought it would be. I control supersonic waves and air pressure, I'm even capable of destroying rocks and boulders. As you can see, I can also send air waves through the ground softening it, making it a cushion. It's far different from anything you'll be able to come up with."

'Kuso...' thought Lee.

"You're next little girl!" the leader shouted running past Lee, straight for Sakura. Sakura was shocked from the shift in the attack that she didn't have time to counter, not that she could do so effectively in her state of exhaustion. "What!?"

"Lee-san!" shouted Sakura as Lee suddenly appeared between them.

"Konoha Daisenpu!" shouted Lee, but he was unable to complete his attack as the Oto-nin caught his leg.

"Looks like my last attack is still affecting you! You caught me off guard, but you still couldn't complete your combo!" he said as he swung a fist a Lee. Rock Lee blocked the attack. "My arm amplifies sound that is generated inside of it like a speaker. Through use of my chakra, I can re-direct the direction in which the sound waves travel and still hit my target!"

Lee screamed in pain as Sakura called his name again.

"All that's left is to finish you off!"

"I won't let you!" shouted Sakura as she through multiple kunai at Lee's opponent, which were blocked by the sound amplifier on his arm. "I can still fight!" She then through multiple shuriken at him only to have them intercepted by a small wave of air pressure from his spiky haired comrade.

Sakura was then knocked off her feet when the third Oto-nin grabbed a handful of her hair. "Hmm... Your hair is far glossier than mine..." she said to Sakura, "You should train more if you have time to take care of your hair that good. Trying to look all sexy for the boys? Zaku, kill that Sasuke kid in front of this wench!"

"Gladly," he replied.

"I-I won't let you..." Sakura said through clenched teeth. She stifled a grunt of pain as the brunette pulled her hair harder to hold her back.

"Shut up and don't move," she ordered Sakura.

Zaku smirked, "Let's do this then." He strutted confidently over to where Sasuke and Naruto lay.

Sakura drew a kunai. "What's the point of that? You can't attack me from where you are," the Oto kunoichi told her.

Sakura turned her head towards the other kunoichi as best she could. "I won't be the one being protected this time!" Much to everyone's shock, Sakura then took the kunai and sliced a good portion of her long hair off. "They always fought to protect me, Sasuke, Naruto, even Lee... They've fought with everything they could to do so... But this time I won't be a burden," she said standing up. "I will protect them with everything I have!" Sakura's eyes took on a hardened glint that had never been seen in her soft emerald eyes giving them a sort of unseen glow in them. She seemed to be channeling Naruto in that brief moment.

"Sakura..." Lee said as he struggled, in vain, to pull himself off the ground.

"Kin, kill her!" Zaku shouted as Sakura started doing hand seals. The female Oto-nin, Kin, charged Sakura stabbing her in the back, only to hind herself stabbing a log with her kunai.

"Kawarimi!" Kin shouted in surprise.

"Kin stay back!" shouted Zaku as Sakura reappeared charging at him. She then threw various kunai and shuriken at him. "Zankuha (Slicing Sound Wave)!" He pointed both he hands towards the Konoha kunoichi. Her throwing weapons were reflected back at her and she crossed her arms to block the attack as she disappeared in another puff of smoke, the log she replaced herself was warped from Zaku's attack as well as having been struck with a large number of her own weapons. "It's still not going to work," he told the girl as she appeared above him. He threw some kunai at her and then looked around to where she would reappear next, only to find her still descending upon him with a kunai stuck in her left arm and another in her right leg. "Shit!"

She stabbed the kunai deep into his flesh, but he managed to block with so she only injured his arm. "Kuso!" Zaku shouted as he kicked her off of him. She grabbed onto him viciously attacking, clawing at the Oto-nins face and even going as far as to bite him.

Zaku became enraged and started to viciously pummel the pink haired kunoichi. "I'll kill you!" He said right before a particularly vicious punch. Her face was bloody, cut and bruised in various places. She pulled another kunai to stab the shinobi again, but he managed to catch her wrist and redirected her arm, thrusting the kunai into the ground.

He rolled on top of her, intent on killing her. "I will not let you harm them!" she shouted as she flipped him over her head. She rolled onto her stomach and tried to stand only to find herself too exhausted. "Kuso..." she cursed. Exhaustion was taking over, the adrenaline rush she felt coming on slowly fading. Zaku got up, pulling the kunai from his arm and doing as few hand seals. Before he could complete the sequence she charged him again slamming into him hard. Before she could move, Kin kicked her in the side of the head knocking her towards Sasuke and Naruto.

"I will protect them!" she shouted defiantly.

"Ha! You can barely move, what makes you think you can keep me from killing each one of them right in front of you one by one?" taunted Zaku. "Say your prayers bitch!" As he ran through his hand seals again ready to finish her off, when three others appeared in front of Sakura.

Under other circumstances, Sakura would hate who had come to her rescue, but at this point she couldn't have been happier. "Ino..."

"I just couldn't let you have all the fun," replied Ino, "Besides, I can't just let you win over Sasuke-kun by letting you play the heroine and you and Naruto still owe me an explanation."

"They're like cockroaches..." commented the leading Oto-nin.

"Just what the hell were you two thinking just interfering in a fight like this!?" Chouji yelled at Shikamaru and Ino.

"Troublesome as it is... It's even more troublesome if we don't help them out..." Shikamaru said lazily. "Since Ino decided to step in, we, as men, just can't run away."

"Besides, we're a three man team," replied Ino, "There isn't anything we can't do together!"

"B-but! I'm not ready to die just yet!" Chouji pleaded as he tried to get away, only to be held in place by Shikamaru.

"Shut up! We can't help that now!" shouted Shikamaru.

Zaku laughed at the 'big-boned' guys actions, "Go ahead and run if you'd like, Fatty."

Both Ino and Shikamaru gasped and took a step back, the latter instantly letting go of Chouji's scarf as if he had been burned. Chouji, on the other hand, stopped trying to run. "What did he say?" Chouji asked in a menacing low whisper. "I'm not sure I heard him correctly."

"I said you can go jack off in the woods for all I care, fat ass!" shouted Zaku.

"I'M NOT FAT! I'M BIG BONED!" shouted Chouji turning around abruptly. "Now it's a fight for honor of Konoha and 'big boned' people everywhere! Hhhhhuuurrrrrraaaayyyy For 'Big Boned' People!"

Ino smirked, "Now you've made him angry."

"Troublesome..." said the Nara shaking his head.

"Sakura," Ino said suddenly, "Take care of those two alright. The Ino-Shika-Chou Team is going to fight with everything we have!"

"Baika no Jutsu (Multi-Size Technique)!" shouted Chouji as he ballooned out to an incredible size. "Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)!" Chouji's limbs and head receded into the 'big boned' guys body as jets of steam streamed out from where each appendage disappeared to. He then began to spin at a very rapid velocity.

"What the hell?" Zaku said placing his hands out in front of him, "Zankuha!" he shouted, streams of air slamming straight into Chouji's gargantuan body. They were at a standstill until Zaku got frustrated and put more power into his jutsu. Chouji then shot up into the air only to start rapidly descending on the spiky haired Oto-nin. "Kuso... Because of his spinning my jutsu is ineffective..."

The leader saw Zaku's predicament and ran to save his partner. Shikamaru decided to step in at this point. "I don't think so! Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Technique)!" The Nara boy's shadow lanced out to capture the Oto-nin's shadow, holding him in place. "Kagemane success!"

Meanwhile, Zaku was just barely able to dodge Chouji's attack.

"Dosu! What the hell are you doing?" shouted Kin when she saw him not doing anything.

"Ino, take care of the woman!" ordered Shikamaru.

"No problem, Shika," replied Ino, "Just take care of my body! Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Shikamaru caught Ino as she slumped to the ground. Chouji had Zaku boxed in with no escape in sight.

"Kin! What are you doing?" shouted Zaku.

"What's wrong?" asked Dosu.

Kin/Ino then held a kunai to her throat. "This is it! If you move, she's dead! Unless you want us to do lasting harm to you guys, you'd better drop your scroll and go!" she ordered them. "Once we feel that you're a good distance away, we'll then release her."

Zaku's response was to attack his teammate.

"Chouji!" shouted Kin/Ino. Chouji intercepted the attack taking the brunt of the damage, but Kin was sent flying back into the tree behind her. Ino's body started bleeding.

"Ino!" shouted Shikamaru. Chouji had returned to his normal size, his attack expired and he was in no condition to continue the fight.

"What the hell? They attacked their own teammate..." Kin/Ino said as she got up.

"You took us far to lightly," said Zaku smirking.

"Our purpose is not some dumb scroll or to even make it through the exam," added Dosu, "It's Sasuke-kun..." Shikamaru's shadow then receded back to him releasing Dosu.

"Ah, I see your jutsu has a set time limit," observed the newly freed Dosu, "And the girl's jutsu... Judging from the blood, if we kill Kin, she dies as well..."

"You'd kill your own teammate?" asked Shikamaru surprised.

"If we have to," said Zaku raising his had towards Kin. "I have to admit though... You almost had us..."

"However... You let your guard down," Dosu informed them.

"Disgusting," said another voice, one Sakura remembered as the pale eyed kid who had confronted Sasuke the day before the second exam started, Hyuuga Neji, the teammate of the girl Naruto trained with and Rock Lee. "Simple Oto-nins waving around their victory by beating a bunch of second rate shinobi like them."

"Lee!" shouted the girl, Ten-Ten, if Sakura remembered correctly.

"Looks like he underestimated them," said Neji seemingly unconcerned for his teammate who was currently unconscious.

"Where do they keep coming from?" asked Zaku, "They're like pesky bugs you just can't get rid of."

"The kid in green is our teammate, and it looks like you went just a little too far," replied Neji as his pale lavender eyes turned white and the veins around his eye bulged, intimidating everyone in the area who was conscious, with the exception of Ten-Ten. Neji then turned his head in surprise as he felt a huge Chakra spike.

"Neji?" asked Ten-Ten.

"Quit showing off and fight us," demanded Dosu.

Neji smirked, "It looks like I'll no longer have to." That's when everyone else felt it. A sickly, powerful aura saturated the air around them as Sasuke was doused in purple chakra. He abruptly stood up.

"Sasuke-kun! You're awake!" Sakura said excitedly before becoming afraid. As Sasuke slowly stood the purple chakra swirled around him.

"Th-That's... Sasuke... kun..." said Kin/Ino, afraid of what had become of her longtime crush.

Mysterious markings now ran down the Uchiha's left arm and the left side of his face. Only Neji seemed unafraid of the new transformation,"Sakura... Who did that to you?"

"The Cursed Seal..." Dosu gasped.

"Sasuke-kun... Those markings..." Sakura began before being interrupted by Sasuke.

"Don't worry, I can feel the power surging inside of me!" said Sasuke confidently, "I'm stronger than I was before, and it's all because of him. I'm an avenger, I will gain power by any means necessary, even at the cost of my own soul."

'I see...' Dosu observed, 'The markings she mentioned earlier was Orochimaru-sama's own Cursed Seal. I can't believe he was able to survive...'

"Who Sakura? Who did this to you?" Sasuke demanded angrily.

"I did!" said Zaku proudly. Sasuke turned his gaze towards the Oto-nin, his two tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly.

"Ino get out of there!" shouted Shikamaru. The blonde kunoichi immediately complied as Kin's body slumped to the ground. "Chouji hide, now!"

"Shikamaru, what's going on?" asked Chouji.

"I don't know..." he answered.

Sasuke's markings spread to cover his entire body.

"This is too much for us, we must leave now," said Dosu to Zaku.

"Whatever! He was half dead just a few minutes ago!" said Zaku going through some hand seals.

"Zaku stop! You don't understand!"

"I'll kill them all!" shouted Zaku, "Zankukyokuha (Ultrasonic Air Slice)!" Everyone had to cover their faces as Zaku's jutsu struck Sasuke. "Blown to pieces!"

"Who was?" asked someone from behind Zaku. His eyes widened in realization as he was knocked off his feet across the clearing.

"Zaku!" shouted Dosu, but Sasuke was already attacking again.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Several fireballs were streaming at Zaku.

"Too Easy! Zankuha!" he shouted, overpowering the fireballs. Unfortunately for him, there were shuriken with in the fireballs and Zaku found himself getting sliced up pretty good, though he wasn't struck in any vital area. Before anyone could say or do anything Zaku found himself doubled over, Sasuke's foot in the center of his back, his arms behind held fast behind him, by the Uchiha.

"This can't be Sasuke-kun..." Ino said in denial, "W-What's happened to him?"

Sasuke smirked, "You seem awfully proud of these arms..." he began to apply pressure, the bones in Zaku's arms began to crack and break.

"S-Stop... Stop it please!" Zaku yelled out in pain. Sasuke began to pull harder, as Zaku's screams became more frequent, until there was finally two loud snaps of Sasuke crippling Zaku's arms.

Sasuke then kicked Zaku down to the ground like common trash before turning towards Dosu.

"I guess it's only you left... You had better be much more entertainment than the other guy," said Sasuke still smirking sinisterly at the shaking Dosu.

"Sasuke-kun! STOP!" Sakura finally yelled out embracing the Uchiha in a full hug, tears streaming down her face. "Stop please..."

Sasuke glared at her for a moment before the markings receded. Ino had never been more afraid in her entire life, save for the mysterious energy she had felt three days prior. Sasuke then collapsed to his knees and then moved to a sitting position breathing heavily.

"You're strong, we can not defeat you..." said Dosu, their teams scroll now in his hand as he had taken in back from Zaku. "How about you just let us go... For now..." he said putting down the scroll slowly. "I must check on some things first, but I promise you, should we face each other once more, I promise we will neither run nor hide."

"Wait! What has Orochimaru done to Sasuke-kun!?" demanded Sakura. "And why Sasuke-kun!?"

"I do not know, we were ordered to kill him," said Dosu, he then left with his teammates.

"Hey, you guys alright?" asked Chouji to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Ino, take care of that Lee guy!" order Shikamaru as he and Chouji made their way over to Team Kakashi.

'Such abnormal chakra... This strange power is far beyond my knowledge...' thought Neji, observing everything from above.

"What happened to Naruto?" asked Shikamaru seeing Naruto's burnt arm upon noticing, for the first time, that Naruto seemed to have lost his trenchcoat, shirt, right wristband and headband. They also noticed what seemed to be a cut on his forehead. "Hey, Sakura, Sasuke, just what have you guys been up to?"

Sasuke seemed to be a bit shaken up with the way events had transpired. So it was up to Sakura to answer. Ino, who was carrying over Rock Lee looked over to Naruto and gasped in shock. "We were attacked by a guy named Orochimaru, Naruto and Sasuke-kun fought him, but he was able to beat them both, even after Naruto used his new technique." she answered, not knowing what all to say about everything that happened.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto's arm intently. "Naruto's jutsu... How long ago did he use it?"

"We encountered Orochimaru on the first day of the exams, why?" asked Sakura curiously.

Ino turned pale. "H-How...? That power was immense...! No ordinary Genin could be capable of anything like that."

"I've never been normal, no matter how much I wish I was..." said Naruto weakly, as he slowly sat up. "I haven't felt this weak since Wave Country..." Everyone jumped at the sound of his unexpected reply. "What the heck was that weird chakra I felt a few minutes ago...?"

"Naruto!" yelled Sakura. "You're finally awake!"

"How long was I out this time?" asked Naruto. The other genins had to wonder just what Team 7 had been up to for one of their members to be constantly knocked on conscious for extended periods of time.

"You and Sasuke-kun were out for three days," said Sakura, "I was so worried about you two!"

"What happened after I passed out?" he asked.

"I brought you and Sasuke-kun here, and watched over you two until we were attacked by Oto-nins sent by Orochimaru," said Sakura.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be fine... Sasuke?" she asked the silent Uchiha heir.

"Hn... I'll be fine..." he said to her.

"Sakura-chan... W-What... What happened to your hair?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke looked up to see what Naruto was talking about. Sakura ran her fingers through her hair, sighing, "Well, I figured I was due for a change. After all, long hair just gets in the way when we're in a place like this," she answered. Naruto seemed to accept that answer.

"Alright, Naruto, Sakura, you two have some explaining," said Ino in an annoyed tone. Sakura looked half annoyed, half worried as she looked at Naruto, who was confused about the whole ordeal.

"I'm sorry Naruto..." said Sakura, "I've been meaning to tell you that Ino saw 'it' right before you took out the Oto-nin before the first exam and again when you managed to get behind that Anko lady and... That... Other nin..." Everyone noticed the hesitation but decided to ignore it for now. "Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but there just hasn't been time."

"That's okay Sakura-chan," said Naruto as he turned towards Ino. He knew it would be more trouble than it was worth to tell her to piss off like he first wanted to, he realized that that option may only make things worse, so he'd answer a few of her questions."Shikamaru, Chouji, help me up." He regretted those words as soon as Chouji grabbed his right arm. Shooting pains traveled up his right arm with great intensity. "KUSO!" he cursed in pain.

"Whatever you did, you have effectively made that arm unusable," said Neji, his Byakugan active, "The chakra pathways in your arm don't even exist anymore."

Naruto close his eyes, remembering what had transpired to make that arm unusable.

_FLASHBACK_

_He then extended his arm towards Orochimaru, palm up. Suddenly, a purplish, black flame appeared in the palm of his hand. "The Jagan may look freakish, but it gives me exactly what I need! In a way... It has a mind of it's own and it HATES disrespect. Insulting it is not something even I would do!" The purplish black flame flickered and grew in size as the tatters of his shirt were blown off and his right wristband incinerated._

_Naruto smirked seeing Orochimaru's expressions of surprise and fear. "This power... It's impossible to control... Once I release it, I have no say... I have the power to pull you into oblivion... I assume just my right arm will do... Kinjutsu: Akkiton: Myou Enkou no Doragon!" Naruto started running at Orochimaru as he brought his arm back and thrust it towards the Hebi Sannin._

_When Naruto charged at him, Orochimaru expected a variation of the Yondaime's Mortal Flame- a close to medium range attack which he could counter easily. What he got was a VERY powerful mid to long range attack at very short range coming at him. Though he managed to dodge dragon shaped purplish black flame, he did not escape unscathed as his right arm was caught at the edge of the attack and was nearly completely incinerated, and what was left was badly burned. The right side of his torso and right thigh were also minimally damaged. The tree behind him was completely demolished and even the Kusanagi had been damaged, the hilt partially melted and the blade was scorched._

_END FLASHBACK_

"Kuso! If I hadn't have missed, you and Sasuke could have gotten us to the tower already..." said Naruto furiously as he grabbed onto Chouji's shoulder with his left hand and pulled himself up. "At least we have both scrolls."

"What makes you think we're just going to let you any of you have those scrolls. The only one capable of fighting on a level on par with my own is the Uchiha and even then there's still two of us and one of him. All the rest of you are too tired or too weak." said Neji arrogantly.

"Don't underestimate me, I may not be able to use my right arm, but I am still able to take you on without a problem," challenged Naruto angrily. Nearly everyone looked like they were wanting to step in before Naruto got hurt, but they didn't want to get in the way of the previous years Rookie of the Year, Hyuuga Neji.

"What makes you think you stand half a chance?" asked Neji, "Without your arm, you can't even mold chakra for any jutsu and only a Uchiha, a Taijutsu Master like Gai-Sensei, or another Hyuuga could hope to keep up with a me using Taijutsu and considering your sword hangs on the left side, it's safe to say you're primarily right handed, meaning your kenjutsu is handicapped as well. How does a dead last loser like you think you can beat me, let alone take me on? You just can't compare to my strength."

Ino flinched at his words as she had said something similar about Naruto before.

Nearly everyone was expecting Naruto to charge blindly at Neji for being called a dobe, but his wild charge never came. Instead he smirked.

"I'll show you exactly why you shouldn't underestimate your opponent, no matter who they are." Naruto closed his eyes.

Team Kakashi, Team Asuma, and Team Gai, minus Lee who was still out cold, watched in fascination as a seal appeared on Naruto's stomach. Then five more symbols representing the five elements appeared around the seal just a moment later. Beams of teal colored light shot out of Naruto's forehead, Ino gasped as the 'cut' on Naruto's forehead opened revealing a teal glowing eye. The glow subsided, revealing a blue slitted eye. Naruto then opened his eyes, and his two 'normal' eyes were slitted as well.

"What the hell is that!?" shouted Ino after the shock began to wear off.

"It's my own kekkei genkai," answered Naruto, "A dojutsu said to rival the Uchiha Sharingan and the Hyuuga Byakugan. It's called the Jagan."

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Tell me _Uzumaki_, how did you obtain a kekkei genkai said only to belong to Kazama Arashi?" Sasuke and Sakura were both shocked to hear Neji say that, but everyone else was confused. Naruto just glared at the Hyuuga Prodigy, while taking a fighting stance, grasping the hilt if his sword with his left hand.

"Because... _I_ am the Yondaime's son," Naruto answered, "Kazama Naruto."

That bit of information even shocked Neji. "Hokage's son or not, you still have little to no talent. Even with such a revered bloodline, you can not hope to beat me. One can not go against fate."

Naruto closed his eyes again, remembering something Kakashi-sensei had said that his eye could eventually do, with enough training. It would be perfect and totally unexpected, that is, if he could pull it off...

_FLASHBACK_

"_Alright, Naruto," said Kakashi as he and Naruto stood in the middle of a forest clearing. They would be back in Konoha in about three days at their current pace of travel. "Today, I'll be teaching you a little bit of what you can do with your eye, should for some reason you're not able to use hand seals what-so-ever. This will be an extremely effective tactic if you are ever captured by the enemy or if one or both of your arms is injured severely enough to limit its use."_

_Sasuke was training on activating the Sharingan faster and maintaining it doing the tree walking exercise. When Naruto questioned why he wasn't doing the same, Kakashi had told him that the Jagan required no chakra to keep it active (not that Naruto would have had to worry about chakra exhaustion from keeping it open too long) and it would actually improve Naruto's chakra control not slightly hinder it due to chakra being focused on both the eyes and feet like both the Sharingan and the Byakugan._

_Sakura was off training with Haku. The Ice Manipulating boy was showing Sakura more herbs that could be used in paralysis poisons as well as a few that could be used in the antidotes of said poisons. She was coming along with her taijutsu as well, as it had improved above that of an academy level grad student._

_Naruto was spending more and more time with Kakashi as he was the only one who could actually tell him anything about his new kekkei genkai. Kakashi had said there was one other person, but he hadn't been seen around Konoha since the death of the Yondaime during the Kyuubi attack._

"_Your eye has many techniques accessible only to you," said Kakashi, "It affords you the ability for far sight, meaning with enough concentration you can see and hear everything in a fixed area with your Jagan several meters away up to about twice the range as the average Byakugan user can see. You may even be able to see through walls with it as well. The Jagan will also make you immune to most low to mid-level genjutsu as well, though it's never truly been tested against the Sharingan. Also, similar to the Sharingan, you will, in time, be able to hypnotize people and put them under weak genjutsus and possibly even some stronger ones as well, which is something a normal Sharingan can not do."_

"_What do you mean, 'normal' Sharingan, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto._

"_A lesson for another time, Naruto," said Kakashi, who gave Naruto a look to drop it for now, "Now, bear in mind, many genjutsu require chakra control that may be well beyond your grasp due to the amount given to you from the Kyuubi. One genjutsu that Arashi-sensei told me about was called the Jaganashi Kiku no Jutsu (Fear of the Evil Eye Technique), which turns something you fear into your opponents fear. Unfortunately, you'll have to figure that one out on your own as only another Jagan weilder could actually show you. Another genjutsu you could possibly do was once a favorite of a very powerful man who had visited Konoha before Sandaime-sama became Hokage. It's a seal-less jutsu like the Jaganashi Kiku, so don't be discouraged if you are unable to do it as it requires a large amount of Chakra and control."_

"_What's it called Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto._

"_It's called Kanashibari no Jutsu (Binding Hand and Foot Technique)," said Kakashi, "It is a B-Rank genjutsu that causes it's victim temporary paralysis. One man in Konoha even improved on the technique, calling it Shi no Kumi no Jutsu (Death Foreseeing Technique) which can be found on the Forbidden Scroll you stole. It shows the victim a gruesome image of their death, causing them to freeze up in fear and the victim can often suffer from psychological damage, thus why it is listed as an A-rank kinjutsu. It is much harder to fight, and takes even more control to master than the original technique, which is why I'll be showing you the Kanashibari only."_

_END FLASHBACK_

"Ready?" asked Naruto, only his Jagan was open.

Neji slipped right into the traditional Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) stance, the fighting style of his family and activated his Byakugan. "Show me what you think you can actually do."

"Gladly!" Naruto shouted as he opened his eyes, they were blood red and the iris of the Jagan began to glow brightly around the pupil. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!" Naruto charged at Neji, drawing his sword with his left hand.

Neji was in for a shock as he realized he couldn't move, "You're dead." Naruto said as he placed the edge of the sword at Neji's throat. Not only was everyone shocked that Naruto actually beat Neji, but he had done so very quickly. No one could speak for some time.

"Very well, I concede the scroll to you," Neji said reluctantly, glaring at the blonde.

"Thanks," said Naruto as the Jagan quit glowing and his eyes turned back to their normal non-slitted sapphire color.

"Ten-Ten, wake Lee and let's go, there is no reason for us to remain here," Neji said cooly. Ten-Ten looked at Naruto with an approving look on her face before she woke Lee. It wasn't long before Lee was on his feet again, having a short conversation with Ten-Ten.

"Hey, Lee-san!" shouted Sakura

"Yes, Sakura-san," said Lee.

"Thank you for helping me," she said sincerely. "I wouldn't have lasted that long without you."

"You are welcome Sakura-san," said Lee, "Sasuke-kun." Sasuke looked at Lee questioningly, "You truly live up to the Uchiha name. You were able to drive back those Oto-nin, while I lost horribly." Sasuke looked shocked at this information as Lee had handed him his own ass not but four days prior. "Sakura-san, the Lotus in Konoha blooms twice. Next time we meet, I promise I will be much stronger than I am now."

"Hey, Sakura, let me fix your hair," said Ino walking up to her former best friend.

Sakura looked Ino over, as if judging her intentions. Finding them genuine, she said goodbye to Lee and walked over to Ino, or she would have if Naruto hadn't collapsed again as soon as Team Gai was out of sight. He was just barely able to support himself on one knee, using his sword as a crutch.

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura.

His Jagan was only half open and he looked extremely tired. "Sakura... Sometimes you make me jealous..."

"Why?" she asked.

"If I had anywhere near half the chakra control you do, I wouldn't have used up so much chakra on the genjutsu. It was all I could do to keep standing. I actually surprised myself that I was able to run up to him and hold the blade to his neck while holding him in that genjutsu for so long..."

"That was amazing how you beat him Naruto," Chouji congratulated him.

"Thanks, Chouji, but I only beat him because he underestimated me. In my current condition, had he taken me seriously, I wouldn't have stood a chance," Naruto admitted. "He won't do it again..."

"Naruto, how did he know about the Jagan? I mean, neither myself nor Sasuke-kun knew about what it was when we first saw it," said Sakura.

"His Clan," answered Sasuke, "Most clans educate their members on the abilities of other kekkei genkais and clan jutsus. When I was younger I had to learn of the Hyuuga Byakugan, the Aburame's Kikaichu, and even about some of the tactics utilized by the past Ino-Shika-Cho groups. My brother mentioned something about an Inuzuka being paired up with one of us during the war against Iwa, but I never paid much attention. He was probably tutored on the abilities of possible opponents he might face later on. Since the Yondaime was dead, with no known family, I suppose our clan didn't think the Jagan would be a threat, though it seems like the Hyuuga were prepared just in case there were others with that particular kekkei genkai."

Shikamaru scowled, "Then that means he let Naruto win."

"What do you mean Shika?" asked Ino.

"Simple, it's well known what the Byakugan and the Sharingan are generally capable of varying only with the talent of that particular user, but Naruto's Jagan is almost unheard of. Even if he knew about some of what it could do, he still didn't know what Naruto could do with it," explained Shikamaru, "There is a good chance, that with Naruto as weak as he is right now, that Neji might have been able to counter or even break his jutsu. He won't make the mistake of underestimating Naruto again and he'll be even more cautious around Sasuke because, not only was Sasuke Rookie of the Year, he's also Naruto's teammate. You two will have to be extra careful if you run into him again."

"But what about Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed, "No matter how much she might have improved, Neji is still far above her level. It's a fair bet that of the nine rookies participating in this exam, only Shino, you and Sasuke have a fair chance at beating him."

"What about Hinata? She's a good fighter too," Naruto inquired.

"As good as she might be, Neji is better. There's a reason why he is praised as the greatest Hyuuga prodigy in many generations," answered Shikamaru.

"Just because someone is considered a genius doesn't mean they can't be beaten by someone who puts in a good amount of effort," countered Naruto.

"That may be so, but it's too troublesome to argue about it now," said Shikamaru, "We need to get going, you guys may have both scrolls, but we still have to get our second one AND make it to the tower."

Naruto nodded, "Thanks Shikamaru."

"Hey... Naruto," Ino said hesitantly, "What was that seal one your stomach?" Each of the members of Team 7 tensed for a moment which did not go unnoticed by Team 10.

"A containment seal," Naruto answered, "Remember how Kabuto said I have huge chakra reserves?"

"So that is the reason? That seal?" asked Ino, "If that was true, how come more shinobi don't have one?"

"Not exactly..." Naruto said carefully, "It was placed on me when I was born to help me regulate the chakra inside of me."

"If you have all that power how come you could barely do those jutsus at the academy?" asked Chouji.

"Because I was putting too much chakra into them. My chakra reserves are so large that I can't do the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) properly and it prevents me from doing almost all genjutsu," answered Naruto truthfully. "The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) requires much more chakra and even less control, so it comes easily to me."

Through all of this, Shikamaru was looking at Naruto speculatively. There was something missing, but he couldn't tell what. After all, a kid with that high of chakra capacity should have been trained much younger than Naruto had been to control it. To have that much chakra and not be able to control it was a disaster waiting to happen. Not to mention being the Yondaime's son should have merited Naruto a small amount of leniency for his pranks, much like the Sandaime's grandson that idolizes Naruto, yet Naruto was often punished rather harshly for them at the academy.

No, there was a piece missing, after all, up until a few minutes ago, he had thought Naruto an orphan with no parents... Speaking of which, the Yondaime's name was Kazama Arashi, yet Naruto was an Uzumaki...

"Naruto, how come your name is different?" asked Shikamaru, there was no mistaking the looks Team 7 gave each other, they were hiding something, this wasn't lost on Ino or Chouji either, but thankfully they remained silent.

"Well... There was just so much destruction after the Kyuubi attacked, that they had no idea I was still alive," Naruto explained hesitantly, "My Kaa-san died while giving birth to me during the attack and so they figured I was just another nameless orphan... No one knew that he was married except Sandaime-ojii-san and someone named Jiraiya. Kakashi-sensei didn't even realize I was the Yondaime's son until I got my kekkei genkai and my Otou-san was his sensei." Naruto's face became uncharacteristically sad, so Team 10 decided it was best to forestall figuring out what they were hiding and why. It also wasn't lost on Shikamaru that Naruto had connections to some of Konoha's most powerful shinobi as two of them were Kages, one a Sannin and the last was easily the most powerful and skilled Jonin in the village. The fact that the Sandaime trained Jiraiya, who trained Yondaime, who trained Kakashi, who was now training Naruto made him think that this wasn't something the Sandaime had done on chance. Despite Naruto's dismal grades and Sasuke's exceptional ones, Shikamaru couldn't help but think that the Sandaime had put them with Sharingan Kakashi for a specific reason.

Sasuke was obvious, as he and Kakashi had two of the remaining three Sharingans left. Naruto, despite his lack of skills, was a legacy child. With Naruto's lack of skill and proper technique, Kakashi would be the best suited trainer for Naruto considering his lineage. It was almost as if Naruto was born and being groomed to be Hokage... Shikamaru shook his head of those troublesome thoughts and the memories they involked.

Naruto's face then suddenly turned to a big grin. "But... Now I at least know something about my parents, and it's kind of neat that the person I looked up to more than anyone was my Tou-san!" he said excitedly. The sudden change of emotions even caught Sakura and Sasuke off guard at times, but since finding out about the Kyuubi they had begun to recognize the smile he currently wore as a mask to cover up for whatever weakness and insecurities he had.

"If you think so highly of the Yondaime, then why did you vandalize the monument just before graduation?" asked Shikamaru curiously.

"Because..." Naruto's fake grin settled into a determined smirk, "I _will_ become Hokage, and _when_ I do, I'll surpass them all. The Shodaime, the Nidaime, Sandaime-ojii-san, and Yondaime-tou-sama, they'll all be impressed with what I will become. I don't care if I'm Godaime or even Rokudaime, I'll surpass them and leave a lasting mark on Konoha so large that no one will forget who I am. I'll prove the village wrong, I'll show them exactly what I can do. I won't back down and I'll continue down my path to become Hokage. That's my nindo."

The conviction in Naruto's voice made each of them believe that he had no doubts that he'd accomplish his dreams. The fact he didn't shout it out loud like a moron helped convince them that he just might do it.

**

* * *

**

The Ino-Shika-Cho Team stuck around for about an hour longer with Team 7. Mostly at Ino's behest as she fixed Sakura's hair. Naruto took the opportunity to get some much needed rest before he, Sasuke and Sakura had to set out again. Chouji and Shikamaru talked about inconsequential things as Sasuke reflected on the strange dream he had while the Cursed Seal took affect and what had happened when he finally woke up.

He still couldn't believe the power and skill difference between himself and the Hebi Sannin. Even injured and only one arm he was able to take on and, nearly effortlessly, defeat the Uchiha prodigy and mark him with some strange mark on the back of his neck.

Speaking of which...

He was very amazed about how alive he felt. He was completely re-energized, if anything he was far stronger than before Orochimaru attacked.

He looked over to Naruto. His rival and the closest thing he could call a best friend. He was looking much better now that he had been back on his feet for a short while. The Kyuubi seemed to be replenishing his strength, but it's power seemed to be diminished. Remembering the seal, Sasuke noted the element symbols surrounding the main seal. They seemed oddly out of place with the intricate design of the seal that had appeared first on Naruto's stomach. No doubt the work of the Sannin. When they were ready to leave, Naruto would be fine, despite the fact he only had one useable arm.

Sasuke then took a moment to study his other teammate, who was currently chatting away with her former best friend and main rival for his affections. He'd be lying if he said he didn't find either of them attractive, but good looks alone wouldn't get anyone anywhere. Sakura seemed to be finally learning that lesson, but Sasuke couldn't image what had happened after he and Naruto had fallen unconscious to change the girl's opinion. Still, Sakura had managed to watch over them for over three days with little to no sleep and managed to defend them until help arrived. He doubted that she could have done it before the Wave mission, but he had to admit she had surpassed whatever little expectations he had for her. Now if she'd only lose the star struck fangirl attitude around him she wouldn't be half bad. He might even consider accepting one of her date invintations... Well, that might be getting too far ahead of himself. Sasuke realized they wouldn't be able to travel for very long in her condition. They'd have to vacate this area at the very least, and then they'd have to find a spot so Sakura, and perhaps Naruto, could rest a bit.

Once Ino and Sakura were done, Chouji and Shikamaru woke up Naruto and the two teams bid their good byes after Naruto wished them luck.

**

* * *

**

Currently, Team 7 was standing at the branch of a tall tree. Naruto had his eyes closed in concentration, his Jagan glowing fiercely. "There's no way we can make it... At least not tonight..." He turned to face them, the glow subsiding.

"What do you see?" asked Sakura.

"There's that team Ame-nin whose scroll we took with a very complex genjutsu up. And there are a few others with various traps all around waiting to ambush some of the stragglers," Naruto told them. "We don't have the energy to fight our way through them all and it would take too long to go around them in our current condition."

"I suspected as much earlier," said Sasuke, "We might as well find someplace to camp. I'll take first watch."

"Sakura-chan, don't worry about watching over us, you've done enough of that for the last three days and you don't have demon inside of you to help you get back all that energy," said Naruto with such uncharacteristic seriousness that she thought it would be better not to argue.

**

* * *

**

The next day a more energized Team 7 made the trek the rest of the way to the Tower. Sasuke had taken the first and last watch while Naruto had taken the middle one, allowing Sakura to get nearly a full sixteen hours of sleep. When she started to apologize both Naruto and Sasuke waved it off saying that she deserved it. She blushed furiously, having never been prouder of herself than ever before.

Still, It took nearly a day and a half before the reached the Tower in the center of the forest due to evading their opponents, something they wouldn't have been able to do without Naruto's Jagan, because even then there were a few close calls. They quickly found the door they were assigned to report to when they arrived, and not a moment too soon as their time limit was soon coming to a close.

"Finally, made it!" Naruto said excitedly and relieved as he opened the door. They appeared into an empty room, with catwalks on either side and a plaque on the wall with an odd inscription. "So... Now what?" he looked at Sasuke and Sakura expectantly, closing his Jagan for the time being.

"What are you asking us for dobe?" asked Sasuke.

"Well... You guys are the smart ones, so I figured you might have some idea of what we're supposed to do..." Naruto said somewhat awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with his left hand.

"Well, perhaps we should check out the inscription on the wall," suggested Sakura, "If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through fields and gain strength. If you possess both Heaven and Earth, dangerous paths become safe paths This is the secret of... It shall lead you on your way," Sakura thought on it for a moment, "There's a blank spot... Do you suppose it's some sort of riddle?"

"I don't get it at all..." Naruto commented, his face filled with confusion.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, "Perhaps it has something to do with the scrolls? It might be telling us we can open them now."

"Well, it's not like we can do much else," Sasuke conceded. He looked to Naruto who pulled out their Heaven Scroll and handed it to Sakura while he himself pulled out their Earth Scroll.

"Ready?" Naruto asked as he watched Sasuke begin to peel away at the seal, waiting for Sakura to do the same. Sakura visibly gulped and her hand shook slightly as she began to mimic Sasuke's actions. Naruto gripped the Shikon no Ruujin tightly, hoping to not have to step in should anything happen.

When they opened the scrolls, they could only look at them in confusion. It suddenly came to Sasuke what they were. "Sakura, drop the scroll! These are summoning scrolls!" He warned her as he threw the scroll away. She froze at the suddenness of the Order and Naruto had to grab the scroll from her hands and throw it towards Sasuke's.

There was a small explosion of smoke. Naruto gasped when he activated the Jagan to see through the smoke. Sasuke and Sakura remained on guard, tensing when the heard Naruto. "Iruka-sensei!?"

"Thank goodness! I had hoped to be the one summoned here when you guys arrived!" said Iruka relieved, until he noticed Naruto's arm, "Naruto, what happened to your arm!?"

Naruto gave him a wide grin, "Don't worry about it, Iruka-sensei! It's just a side affect of a new jutsu I used during the 2nd exam."

"You mean the one that sent a good deal of our ninja force into a panic?" asked Iruka, "Even some of the villagers could feel the power of that jutsu."

Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry?" Naruto half asked, half apologized. He at least had the dignity to look sheepish.

"No matter, I'm glad you three are alright," said Iruka relieved, "Sandaime-sama is waiting to speak with you as you still have another four hours before the second exam is completed."

**

* * *

**

Iruka then led Kakashi's Team 7 through various corridors until they came to a set of double doors with Anbu guards stationed there. "Team 7, reporting." said Iruka. The Anbu nodded and opened the door revealing various nins the trip recognized and a few they didn't. Of the ones the recognized were the Sandaime, Kakashi, Ibiki, Anko, Kurenai, Asuma, Hayate, and Gai. The ones they didn't was a Jonin with a large scar on his face, a senbon chewing Jonin, one with sunglasses. Also in attendance were the Clan Heads comprising of Hyuuga Hiashi, Aburame Shibi, Inuzuka Tsume, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Chouza.

Though Team 7 didn't know it, they'd all been informed of Naruto's status as the Yondaime Hokage's son. Many were still skeptical, but they were somewhat willing to give Kakashi and Sarutobi the benefit of the doubt.

"They're here at last," Sandaime commented, "We were afraid more misfortune may have befallen you after your run-in with Orochimaru and his Oto-nin."

"How...?" Sakura began to question before being cut off by Kakashi.

"Team 10 arrived late last night and reported you guys ran into some trouble," he said.

"One thing first Ojii-san," said Naruto with a serious expression on his face. "Is _SHE_ trustworthy?" He indicated Anko.

"What the hell do you mean by that gaki!?" Anko shouted angrily. She was taken aback when Naruto's Jagan flared. Many others in the room did as well at the flash of the suddenly wide open third eye that was glowing with power. He also solidified his own status, not that he knew nor would have even cared if he had.

"I can sometimes sense things that others can't," said Naruto firmly, "I first felt it when you introduced yourself after the first exam. Your Chakra is tainted. It's weak, but it still isn't pure. It was the same feeling I got from that Kusa-nin that ran up on us that I should have ran through with my blade as it turned out that he was really Orochimaru." Anko instinctively touched the back of her neck, a reflex not lost on anyone. "It's that same taint I can sense in Sasuke now, only his is stronger."

It went unnoticed only by Naruto, the glare Sasuke shot at Naruto at the mention of the Cursed Seal.

"There are few I would trust more, Naruto" assured Sandaime, Naruto nodded in acceptance.

"Err... Anko-san? Right? W-What did Orochimaru d-do to Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura hesitantly.

"It's called, the Ten no Juin, a forbidden jutsu that was the result of extensive experimentation by my former student, Orochimaru. To date, that we know of, only eleven people have ever received the Cursed Seal, of those eleven, only Anko and Sasuke have ever survived the process," answered Sandaime as Anko was in a sort of daze being comforted by Kurenai. "We're not fully aware of what it can do, as Anko's has never activated, but we have some ideas."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Anko.

"We're going to continue the Chuunin Exams as planned and continue to allow Sasuke to compete, if he is up to it," said Sandaime.

"B-But we can't..." stuttered Anko in defiance.

"I've had my final say on the matter Anko," the Sandaime said sternly, but not unkindly.

"Very well, Hokage-sama," she replied in a forced tone.

"However, Sasuke, if you decide to continue competing," warned Kakashi in a lazy voice, "You are not to draw power upon the seal no matter what. The very second you do, all of the attending Jonin's have been ordered to act accordingly. You will be knocked conscious immediately and you will forfeit the match."

Sasuke nodded and grunted in acceptance, relieved that he would continue on with the exams.

"Immediately, after your match, you will accompany me to do something about that seal," said Kakashi, "I'd do it now because the entire procedure itself takes little time, but you will more than likely be unconscious for, at minimum, 18 or so hours."

Sasuke nodded again.

"Ojii-san, Hebi-teme also did something to my seal," everyone tensed up when Naruto said this, "They already know about 'it'," he glared at most of the room before anyone spoke up, none of them visibly relaxed. After all, they all knew what the 'it' was that he was referring to.

Sandaime frowned, "What happened?" he asked, unsure of how he'd like the answer.

"I'm not sure, but I it's the biggest reason why I was knocked out from Chakra exhaustion for three days. Whatever he did it's completely messing up my Chakra control," he said.

"Can you show us?" asked Sandaime.

Using a one handed Ram Seal, Naruto channeled as much chakra as possible. First appeared the Yondaime's Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal), that was placed on Naruto at birth, and then came Orochimaru's Gogyo Fuin.

"It's crude, but I suppose it would be since it was done in haste and probably when he was suffering from the pain of your jutsu, Naruto." said the Sandaime, "While it may not be up to Orochimaru's standard of perfection, only four people, that I know of, would be able to undo this seal. Only three of them would actually do it for you as Orochimaru was the fourth. Luckily for you, two of them are in this room."

The Sandaime looked over at Kakashi.

"The seal I have in mind for Sasuke is quite taxing on both the sealer and the one having the seal placed on him. It would delay sealing Orochimaru's Ten no Juin and we can't risk Sasuke experiencing the seal's more interesting side affects." Kakashi informed the Sandaime.

"Very well, Kakashi. Now, Naruto hold still, this might sting a bit." the Hokage said still studying the supplemental seal. He did a few hand seals, "Gogyo Kaiin (Five Elements Unseal)!" The tips of his fingers started glowing with a yellow flame, he then thrust his palm into Naruto's stomach. The Element seals on Naruto's stomach then started to glow purple, then yellow, and finally started to fade. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a rush of Chakra inside of him and fell to his knees breathing heavily. Sandaime sighed, "For all of his... 'researching' habits, Jiraiya was always much better with seals than I ever was. Had he been available to do it, you would have probablly not have felt the sudden rush of fatigue you are currently expiriencing. His talent for sealing was only surpassed by your father."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all confused why Anko, Kurenai, and Tsume were glaring at the Hokage and radiating killing intent at the mention of the Gama Sennin's research. The scene was ruined by the slightly disturbing sound of Kakashi giggling before suddenly straightening up and, for once, putting his orange book away.

"Now, Naruto... about your arm... Are you still able to compete?" asked Sandaime. Naruto glared at the Hokage in a similar fashion that Sasuke had at himself earlier. Sakura meanwhile was grumbling about stubborn idiot boys.

"I'm fine, I'm more than ready to take the Hebi-teme on again if I have to," he boldly announced. "I'm completely fine and able to fight."

"Naruto, just because you can, doesn't mean you necessarily should..." said Kakashi as he found himself at the end of Naruto's glare.

"I'm fine," Naruto insisted.

"Very well, Naruto," said Sandaime resignedly, "You may very well continue, Kakashi, escort your Genins to the others, we have just another two hours before the start of the next phase of the Chuunin Exams."

**

* * *

**

Kakashi nodded and then led his Team to where the rest of the Genin's who had passed the second exam were congregating. In attendance were Kurenai and Asuma's Teams 8 and 10, respectively, as well as Maito Gai's team. Kabuto's team, they noticed, also had made it, as well as the Oto team, and the Suna team.

**

* * *

**

Naruto and Neji eyed each other cooly, as Team 7 approached. A sudden spike of killing intent made Naruto turn his attention towards Gaara, who was looking at the blonde in anticipation of fighting him.

"Boy, Naruto, you're making friends everywhere," stated Kiba sarcastically. Now, Naruto had his Jagan closed, making it look like a slit on his forehead. "What happened to you guys, you look like you've been through hell!"

Looking at each other, Team 7 realized Kiba was right. Naruto looked like he had a cut on his forehead, as well as a few scrapes and bruises from his confrontation with Orochimaru, as well as a scorched right arm. Like Naruto, Sasuke was covered with cuts and bruises and his clothes slightly torn, unlike Naruto, he still had his shirt on. Sakura, while looking much better than she had, still had many bruises all over her arm and face and her right eye was still slightly swollen from the confrontation with the Oto-nin.

"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata stuttered quietly, "I-If... you l-like... I have some m-medical oi-ointment for y-you..." She looked away from and started pressing her fingers together, "A-And your team..." she added hastily, while blushing wildly.

Neji's eyes narrowed slightly at Hinata's show of weakness, while Ten-Ten found it cute. Both Ino and Sakura were torn on whether they should be aggravated or amused by Naruto's obliviousness.

"Sure, thing Hinata-chan!" said Naruto gratefully while giving her a big grin. Hinata just turned redder as she handed him the small jar. She then fainted as soon as he thanked her by putting his arm around her shoulders.

In typical Naruto fashion, he did the one thing he could do. He panicked. "Hinata!" He shouted checking her pulse and temperature. "I-I-I didn't do anything I-I swear! What's wrong with her!" he yelled, "Kuso! Where are the med-nins, Hinata needs help!"

"Naruto, Hinata will be fine," said the normally silent Shino. Kiba, meanwhile, was holding down fits of laughter, as were many others. Even Shikamaru and Sasuke had small smile of amusement.

Naruto was holding her still, when she awoke. She slowly opened her eyes, and upon seeing Naruto's face she dreamily smiled and whispered, "N-Naruto-kun..."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Hinata! You're alright!" he shouted in relief.

His face turned from relief to horror as Hinata realized where she was and turned bright red again, and promptly fainted, again. "Hinata!" Naruto shouted before turning to Shino, "I thought you said she was alright! Something serious could be wrong with her!"

"I assure you it is nothing serious," said Shino reassuringly. Kiba couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing.

"What's so funny Inu-Teme!" Naruto glared at the boy. "Hinata could be seriously injured, or sick, or..."

"Naruto," Shino interrupted firmly, "She just needs some air. We'll set her over there and give her some space while she recovers... I assure you it is nothing serious, she will be fine." Naruto finally conceded and he and Kiba placed Hinata up against the nearby wall.

**

* * *

**

The time passed rather quickly and after a few minutes Hinata regained consciousness, however, she would not look at Naruto and turned bright red whenever he spoke to her. The memory of being in a shirtless Naruto's arms was enough to nearly make her lose consciousness yet again. as it was, she nearly collapsed at the memory and her stutter got significantly worse whenever she was around him and his concern over her 'condition' was not doing her any favors. Naruto was repeatedly confused by this and gave up trying to understanding it, labeling it as some sort of 'girl thing'.

* * *

As the time slowly drew to a close, the Jonins and various exam proctors appeared in the room. Each of the remaining teams stood in a line in front of their respective sensei as the Sandaime explained the purpose of the Chuunin Selection Exams and their role in politics of the Elemental Countries. He was beginning to explain the third exam when he was cut off by the proctor, a Jonin named, Yamashiro Aoba, who explained that they were going to have a preliminary round before the actual Third Exam. The Third Exam was to consist of single one-on-one combat and he offered anyone who did not wish to participate to quit. 

Only Kabuto did, stating he had been ambushed by a group of Ame-nins during the exam and he wasn't fully recovered, although he looked barely hurt at all. Team 7 had the dignity of looking a bit sheepish, though no one other than themselves knew exactly why.

Sakura had really hoped either Naruto or Sasuke would have quit as well, but neither had.

Before they new it, the first match was up...

**Uchiha Sasuke vs Ten-Ten...**

_

* * *

__A/N: As promised the prelims are switched up a bit, though some matches may be the same as before, they also may or may not have the same results as they had in canon. I have the bracket sorted out for the prelims and the Third Exam, I tried to accommodate everyone's requests that I could so I hope you will all be pleased._

_I'm not sure whether the prelims will take one chapter or two, but I'll see at the end of the week._

_Also, I hoped you all enjoyed the small Naruto/Hinata moment towards the end. For all that the Jagan grants Naruto, it is still limited by Naruto's own perceptions. After so many times of being rejected by Sakura and with the way other people have treated him, Hinata's behavior confuses him as he doesn't even think anyone would actually like him like that, though he does have hopes that, that will change in the future. I personally found it amusing, but that's just me._

_I also liked the confrontation between Naruto and Neji. I hope I made it believable enough for you all without totally making Naruto suddenly super, crazy powerful. I also could not give Naruto an outright victory as he and Neji still have to face each other in the Third Exam._

_Also, if anyone is confused at why Naruto woke up when he did, it's because he had felt the "weird chakra" that all of a sudden appeared and then disappeared. Not knowing what it was, he managed to gather up just enough energy to wake up. In the confusion that followed, neither Sakura nor Sasuke told Naruto about Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven, but due to the Jagan, Naruto realized that Sasuke's chakra was even more tainted by Orochimaru than Anko's._

_This is for various reasons._

_One, Anko's Cursed Seal is sealed._

_Two, Sasuke has a thirst for power and revenge fueled by malice and hatred that Anko just doesn't have. It rules over a lot of what he does/will do, where as Anko will merely jump at whatever chances come her way. I'm not saying that Anko doesn't hate Orochimaru and that she doesn't want revenge, she just doesn't let it affect her as much as Sasuke lets it affect him._

_Three, Anko has a fierce hatred of Orochimaru and absolutely refuses to have anything to do with him, minus the use of his personal jutsus. Sasuke has no such biases, despite being attacked by the Hebi Sannin in the forest, so his mind is more open to accepting Orochimaru's power._

_As of yet the only people who know about the Jagan of all of the remaining competitors are Neji, Ten-Ten, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Sasuke, Sakura and Gaara, thus why Naruto still keeps it a secret. The Jagan will be revealed to everyone else in the next Chapter as he faces his opponent._

_For those confused on the chapter name, the first and third segments should be self-explanatory as the Deal with the Oto-nin coming after Sasuke and Naruto revealing the Jagan and talking a bit about the seal._

_The second part is a play on word signifying Sakura's new resolve, as she began to "bloom" in this chapter, and Lee preforming the Lotus and also telling Sakura that the Lotus will bloom twice when next they meet._

_Next Chapter: The preliminary matches for the Chuunin Selection Exams begin, starting with Sasuke vs Ten-Ten. Does victory or defeat await Team 7 in the shadows? How will Naruto cope without the use of his right arm in his own match?_


	7. The Chuunin Exam Preliminaries, Lets Get

_A/N: Sorry this Chapter is a day late... I had troubles with writing the Lee match, but I think it turned out alright... I hope you enjoy the Chuunin Third Exam Preliminary Round!_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Seven: The Chuunin Exam Preliminaries, Let's Get Ready to RUMBLE!!!**

* * *

**FIRST MATCH:**

**Uchiha Sasuke**

**vs**

**Ten-Ten**

"I need all but the named competitors to move themselves to the observation deck so we can begin the preliminary matches for the Third Exam of the Chuunin Selection Exams," said Aoba. "First up, Uchiha Sasuke vs Ten-Ten."

Everybody moved to the upper deck to watch the coming fight, except for Kakashi who stopped next to Sasuke. "Remember what we discussed Sasuke, I will interfere if the Cursed Seal begins to manifest itself. Limit the use of your Sharingan, but try avoid using it if possible."

* * *

Kakashi never looked up from his book as he made his way up to where Naruto and Sakura stood leaning on the rails of the observation deck. "Why the long face Naruto?" 

"I don't know who to cheer for... Sure Sasuke is my teammate... but Ten-Ten and I train together," said Naruto, "She's helped me loads with my kenjutsu."

"Yosh! I find it very youthful that you would consider supporting Ten-Ten even if she is facing your own teammate. I think she would understand if you supported your teammate," said Maito Gai.

"Go Ten-Ten!" shouted Lee.

* * *

Sasuke and Ten-Ten were observing the other cooly, several meters apart. 

"Whenever you're ready... Fight!" announce Aoba.

'Last year's Rookie of the Year, Hyuuga Neji... Uchiha Sasuke, the current year's number one Rookie... I wonder how I'll match up?' thought Ten-Ten as she confidently drew a kunai and smirked. "You might want to give up now, you won't even get close." Of course confident was what she didn't feel, as she remembered what had happened in the forest. His speed was remarkable and she wasn't all together sure that even Neji could follow it. However, the black markings weren't there, so she new that while they were dormant she had a chance. If only she could keep her distance.

She flicked the kunai at him and with remarkable speed he flipped out a kunai and deflected it. As he did so, she jumped into the air flinging multiple shurikens at him. He effortlessly deflected them all, without use of the Sharingan.

**

* * *

**

All the while both Lee and Gai were both cheering her one, yelling about the springtime of youth and all that. Naruto, however, was becoming very irritated with them.

"As you see Naruto, Ten-Ten already has her cheerleaders, so it would be alright if you were to support Sasuke," said Kakashi reading his Icha Icha Paradise Vol III. As soon as he said it, both Sakura and Ino could be heard yelling loudly for Sasuke. "Hmm... It appears that Sasuke already has his own, much less creepy, cheerleaders as well..."

"Kakashi is just jealous because his Flames of Youth don't burn as brightly as mine!" exclaimed Gai.

"You say something?" asked Kakashi barely glancing at Gai. Naruto only become more agitated when Gai went on about how 'hip' and 'cool' Kakashi was. Naruto decided to put some space in between Kakashi, Gai and Lee and himself by walking over to stand next to Hinata. Said kunoichi immediately blushed bright red and let out a small squeak.

"Are you alright Hinata?" asked Naruto. Kurenai momentarily took her focus off the match to watch their small interaction.

Not trusting her own voice, Hinata merely nodded wildly.

"Are you sure? You look flushed," said Naruto putting his good hand on her forehead, "After what happened earlier I'd hate to see anything happen to you." He said in a concerned tone. This only made Hinata turn cherry red.

"I-I-I-I'm f-f-fine, N-Naruto-kun..." she barely whispered.

Naruto turned his attention back to the match after giving Hinata one last look of concern. Hinata, however couldn't focus on anything except the boy next to her, whom she was very pointedly not looking at.

Kurenai only looked on in amazement. 'Can he really be that clueless?'

* * *

"Not bad Sasuke," said Ten-Ten with a small grin. "But I've been training for the last year with a prodigy that might be even better than you, so you had best be able to do much better!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, trying to anticipate what she was going to try next. Sasuke drew another kunai and took the Uchiha Sekkendou stance. 

She began to run behind him, careful to keep her distance. Sasuke continued to follow her with his eyes, not bothering to activate the Sharingan, as her speed was nothing compared to either Rock Lee or Orochimaru. She then took to the air doing a flip high above him, while she pulled out a large scroll and spun it around her.

Activating his sharingan to only one tomoe in each eye, he watched as she ran her hand across each of the seals on the long scroll as it spun around her. Suddenly, he saw a barrage of kunai and shurikens flying towards him. It was only with the Sharingan that he managed to dodge or deflect each and every single weapon she had summoned at him.

"Impressive," she breathed as she landed. "But you can't do that forever."

Sasuke, not one for witty repertoire, charged at her. He threw both of his drawn kunai at her and started doing some hand seals as she unfurled a scroll and shot out a dozen shuriken. "Kunai Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Kunai Shadow Clone Technique)!" Each kunai simply became a dozen and overwhelmed the shuriken Ten-Ten had launched.

Ten-Ten did a back flip, touching down on the wall before launching herself high into the air, avoiding Sasuke's technique.

* * *

"Stupid Teme!" Naruto hissed under his breath. "I find one jutsu to make me, me... One jutsu I can use better than anyone and he has to bastardize it like that!" 

Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto, though she could understand why he was upset.

"I've seen the Sandaime use a similar jutsu involving shuriken," responded Kakashi, "It uses much less chakra than an actual Kage Bunshin, though he really should be more careful with the amount of chakra he uses..."

"You'll just have to come up with something a little more unique," said Sakura, not wanting to think about what would happen should Sasuke's Cursed Seal activate.

Naruto grimaced.

"I-I'm s-s-sure if anyone c-can do i-it, i-it's you... Naruto-kun..." commented Hinata shyly, briefly looking at Naruto before focusing back on the match blushing.

Naruto smiled, "Thanks Hinata-chan."

She was glad he hadn't looked at her because she only turned redder from there.

**

* * *

**

Sasuke doing more hand seals continued to followed Ten-Ten's movements. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"

Ten-Ten twisted and turned in midair to avoid each of the fire balls that were shot at her. She landed gracefully. "I had hoped to save this one for the finals, but you're far too good for anything else," she then pulled out two scrolls. "Feel proud, only my teammates and sensei have seen this technique. Not even your teammate, Naruto has had a glimpse of it yet. Only Neji and Gai-sensei have completely defended themselves against this jutsu. Lee's speed even has trouble with it, so prepare yourself."

* * *

"So, she's using THAT technique..." commented Gai. 

"That impressive, Gai?" asked Kakashi, barely glancing up from his book.

Gai nodded, "Indeed it is. I apologize in advance, as it looks like your student will not win this match."

"It would be unwise to count Sasuke out just yet, after all, his bloodline limit hadn't even activated yet when he beat many of Neji's scores in the academy," countered Kakashi.

"Sasuke, as he is now, was unable to even touch Lee just before the first exam, I find your faith in your pupil both admiral and youthful, but he won't beat Ten-Ten," stated Gai.

"Hmm... What was that?" asked Kakashi, seemingly no longer listening to Gai. Gai merely sputtered about how hip and modern Kakashi's reply was.

**

* * *

**

Ten-Ten placed both scrolls on either side of her, making sure they were balanced perfectly on their side, standing vertically. She then did five hand seals before crossing her arms, a determined look on her face. "Soushouryu (Twin Rising Dragons)!"

There was an explosion of smoke which made Sasuke cover his face reflexively. He knew the attack was coming so he summoned more chakra to his eyes, activating the second tomoe in each. He hoped he wouldn't need it for too long as he could feel his chakra draining rapidly and the urges for the Cursed Seal to be released. He flinched at the slight pain at the base of his neck, but chose to ignore it.

Two dragons made of billowing smoke shot out from where Ten-Ten approximately was. Sasuke, as well as the others, watched in amazement as they began to twirl around each other, before changing back into the scrolls.

It was then Sasuke realized his mistake. As the smoke cleared Ten-Ten was still crouched where she was. Before Sasuke could do anything she disappeared in a blur of motion, jumping between the spiraling scrolls, twirling around like a torrential hurricane. She touched various seals on the scrolls, summoning a weapon and throwing it almost as she received it. Sasuke couldn't help be impressed by her skill as she wasn't even aiming and was still managing to hit nearly dead on her target. He was certain her accuracy was something even Itachi would be jealous of.

The only reason she missed was because he was either deflecting her weapons or dodging them, but only just barely. Even with the Sharingan, the amount of weapons and the rapid repetition of each volley were nearly overwhelming.

Sasuke's stamina and chakra capacity didn't last as long as he liked, as he felt another pulse from the seal. The moments distraction was all Ten-Ten needed to score some glancing blows to the Uchiha prodigy. No major injuries, but enough to slow him down some.

"Hn... Was that all?" Sasuke asked, his eyes back to their normal onyx color. "Your teammates are far weaker than I thought..."

Ten-Ten just looked at him with a fiery expression, as she took to the air again. "It's not done yet!"

As she shouted this, she pulled back with her arms and Sasuke noticed the wires attached to each of the weapons scattered all around him. Now he realized why only Neji and Gai were able to defend against this technique as one would have to be incredibly fast or be able to see 360 degrees all at once. Activating his Sharingan proved to be a mistake however as he gripped his shoulder in pain and fell to a knee. The Cursed Seal began to activate itself.

"C'mon Sasuke!" shouted a familiar voice, "How do you expect to show how strong the Uchiha Clan really is if you can't hold your own in a small fight like this!" Naruto shouted, "Is it all just a bunch of hype from some arrogant assholes!?"

'Kuso! That teme is mocking me!' thought Sasuke angrily as he not only forced down the pain, but the Cursed Seal as well.

* * *

'What the hell!?' Anko thought in shock, 'He forced it back by sheer will power!' 

Kakashi smirked under his mask, 'THAT is why I passed this team.'

**

* * *

**

Ten-Ten pulled back on the stings and manipulated the weapons to all attack Sasuke at once from all directions. Much to her surprise Sasuke jumped into action when he was barely vertical before. A kunai in each hand he managed to deflect many of the weapons being sent after him with much more proficiency than before, his Sharingan spinning wildly.

She noticed him running through a set of hand seals she was unfamiliar with. Ten-Ten tried to prevent him from completing his technique when she was caught off guard as he caught one of her weapons, placing the wire between his teeth as he completed the final seal.

'Tora... A Katon jutsu?' she thought.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" A large stream of fire made it's way towards Ten-Ten. Her eyes widened in realization and fought vigorously to disconnect the weapons from he fingers. She barely landed when Sasuke threw six more kunai at her. She crossed her arms to block instinctively, but none of them came near her. However, each of the kunai were attached to each other with wire very much like the ones she had used in her Soushouryu. Because she had crossed her arms, she was now secured tightly to the wall with no change of escape. Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of her with another kunai at her throat. "Concede."

"The match is over, Winner... Uchiha Sasuke!" announced Aoba. Sasuke then cut Ten-Ten down from the wall, before leaning up against it for support.

"Not bad, I didn't think it could be beaten like that," said Ten-Ten with a small smile, "I was sure I had you."

"You would have if the dobe hadn't have said anything," replied Sasuke.

"Yeah, he does tend to bring out the best in people doesn't he?" she said smiling in Naruto's direction. Kakashi then appeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Congratulations, you both did remarkably well," he said to them, "It's time Sasuke..." With a small nod from Sasuke, Kakashi grabbed onto his shoulder and used Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) to teleport them away.

Naruto looked down where Kakashi and Sasuke disappeared from with an aggravated expression on his face, "Show off... When I finally learn that technique I'm going to master it better than anyone."

Sakura merely rolled her eyes at what she and Sasuke were now calling Naruto's 'Shunshin Rant'. Though she had little doubt that WHEN he did learn it, he would make it his own. After all, though she was loathe to admit it, his Oiroke no Jutsu was impressive despite being totally unacceptable and completely perverted. Kakashi had refused to teach Naruto how to do the jutsu stating that he didn't have the necessary control for it, but Sakura was almost certain it was because it was something he could use to hold over Naruto's head for an indefinite amount of time.

"Hey, Naruto," said Ten-Ten coming up to the observation platform, Naruto merely gulped and backed up towards Hinata, who nearly fainted from his close proximity. "I understand he's your teammate, but you wouldn't be half as good with that sword of yours if it wasn't for me. All that time we trained together didn't mean anything did it?" she frowned, "I though that maybe you'd cheer for me just a little bit, I thought we were friends..."

"B-B-B-But... I-I-I... Umm... I mean... I-It's just... Y-you see... I..." Naruto sputtered pitifully, his eyes practically begging for forgiveness. Ten-Ten nearly doubled over in laughter as Naruto tried in vain to even sputter a full sentence to explain himself.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'm not mad," she said smiling, "You're just too easy to tease sometimes!"

"Ah, the Flames of Youth burns brightly with you two!" shouted Lee giving them a thumbs up, his teeth shining. "I will have to train twice as hard now to make sure my Flames of Youth do not diminish so that it may forever rival yours!"

"And if Lee can't do that I will train three times as hard!" Gai declared.

"And if he can not do that, I will train four times as hard!" shouted Lee.

"S-sensei..."

"Lee..."

"Gai-sensei...!"

"Lee...!"

A sunset beach appeared behind them as the began to embrace each other, praising the others passion for the Flames of Youth.

Hinata discreetly activated her Byakugan, but she couldn't see through the mysteriously activated genjutsu. Naruto couldn't believe that even his Jagan was fooled by it, as he currently had it activated trying to manage the impossible. Yuuhi Kurenai even did a seal to try and dispel it, to no avail.

"You think you guys have it bad... We're on their team..." sighed Ten-Ten.

* * *

_A/N: I know it's probablly cliche and overused, but I didn't have a truly original Gai/Lee moment so I decided to go ahead and add one here. Most all of the good fics have them, and I didn't think this one should be any different. Don't worry, I won't have it happen in every seen that I have both Gai and Lee in it, just when the situation truly calls for it._

* * *

A cough from the fighting area caught everyone's attention. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and Naruto closed his Jagan before anyone noticed. 

"Now that I have everyone's attention," Aoba said in an annoyed tone, "Let's see the next match up..." He then turned to the large screen overhead that was randomly selecting names.

**

* * *

**

**SECOND MATCH:**

**Akimichi Chouji**

**vs**

**Sabaku no Temari**

"Can Akimichi Chouji and Sabaku no Temari report to the competition area?" asked Aoba. Chouji timidly made his way down to the fighting area, Naruto and Ino cheering him on as Shikamaru wished him luck. Shino, Hinata, and Kiba were nervous for the 'Big Boned' boy as they had seen what her teammate could do.

The blonde Suna Kunoichi merely glided down on her fan, a confident smirk on her face. "I'm afraid your path ends here. You will go no farther. There are three moons on my fan, when you see the third one, you've lost."

"Don't underestimate me!" shouted Chouji.

"Sabaku no Temari vs Akimichi Chouji, Fight!" shouted Aoba.

"Then come at me with all you've got... Fatso..." she said with a confident smirk, all the while remaining completely calm.

* * *

"She's done it now!" said Ino excitedly. "She doesn't know what she's in for!" 

"Troublesome..." muttered Shikamaru. "As much as it pains me to say it, Chouji's going to lose..."

"How can you say that Shika!" demanded Ino, "He's been your best friend for ages!"

"Friend or not, it doesn't change the outcome of what the match will be," he said lazily.

"What do you mean Shikamaru?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru merely sighed, "It's too troublesome to explain, just watch, you'll see soon enough."

* * *

"I'm NOT fat! I'M BIG BONED! HHHHUUURRRRAAAYYYY FOR BIG BONED PEOPLE!" Chouji shouted, "BAIKA NO JUTSU! NIKUDAN SENSHA!" Chouji ballooned to many times his size and his appendages receded into his body and he began to spin faster and faster. He started directly for Temari, but somehow was rolled right by her. 

"Pathetic, it looks like I won't even have to try hard," she taunted as her fan was now open to it's first moon.

**

* * *

**

B-But... How?" asked Ino, "He was headed straight for her and she didn't even move."

"It must have something to do with that fan," observed Ten-Ten.

**

* * *

**

Chouji charged at her again, only to be blown up into the air as she swung her fan at him. She placed the fan at her side revealing the second moon. Unlike the fight with Zaku earlier, Chouji had a ceiling to worry about as he slammed into it, hard, his rotation came to a stop and he fell back down to the ground.

Chouji was dazed, as he tried to stand up. Temari smirked, "I'm surprised you made it this far with such pathetic skills. There's no since in drawing it out much longer." She let her fan open up to the third and final moon.

"Chouji, watch out!" shouted Shikamaru. "Get out of there!"

Everyone, including Chouji, was so shocked by this outburst that Chouji didn't even see Temari's next attack coming until it was too late. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Cutting Whirlwind Technique)!" she shouted swinging her fan. She unleashed a giant tornado straight at the 'Big Boned' Konoha-nin, that went vertical as soon as he was caught in it's vortex. Chouji was spinning around violently and was sliced up in various places all over his body as he screamed out in pain.

"There's no escape for him, that entire tornado is saturated with chakra," said Neji. "It's over."

Chouji was dumped unceremoniously to the ground as the whirlwind died down. "I'm not impressed by the so called strength of Konoha." Temari said arrogantly. She looked up at the observation deck to see the kid with the pineapple hair cut glaring at her, while the blonde girl next to him was looking at their teammate in horror. She felt a brief spike of familiar feeling killer intent directed at her and for once it wasn't Gaara. That wasn't a soothing thought when she looked over at the blonde Jinchuuriki from Konohagakure no Sato.

"The winner of the match, Sabaku no Temari," announced Aoba.

**

* * *

**

Temari walked back up to where her brothers were as Chouji was carried out by med-nins on a stretcher.

"Sheesh, I hope my match is as easy as that one," said Kankuro, "If not, I might have to actually break a sweat!"

"The next match up is..." stated Aoba.

**

* * *

**

**THIRD MATCH:**

**Nara Shikamaru**

**vs**

**Kin Tsuchi**

This match seemed to be predetermined from the beginning, with Kin using senbon with bells on them to activate a sound activated genjutsu to render Shikamaru helpless. Unfortunately for her, Shikamaru was three steps ahead of her as he used the strings the senbon were attached to, to trap her in his Kagemane no Jutsu. He then preceded to throw a kunai at her head and then bash her head into the nearby wall, knocking her out.

"I have to admit, while the match was boring, the way he won was pretty cool," commented Naruto.

"The winner, Nara Shikamaru..." said Aoba, impressed with the Genin's intellect. "The next match up is..."

**

* * *

**

**FOURTH MATCH:**

**Sabaku no Gaara**

**vs**

**Dosu Kinuta**

"Can Sabaku no Gaara and Dosu Kinuta come down to the fighting area?" requested Aoba.

"I apologize, but I must withdraw..." said Dosu, "His abilities are far beyond mine." Gaara looked at him in disgust and annoyance. Dosu didn't care. He knew Orochimaru might punish him for forfeiting the match, but he knew it would be a lot worse if he somehow managed to damage the Ultimate Weapon for Orochimaru's plan.

Aoba sighed, "Very well... Winner... Sabaku no Gaara! Let's now see what we have for the next match!"

**

* * *

**

**FIFTH MATCH:**

**Aburame Shino**

**vs**

**Akado Yoroi**

"Aburame Shino and Akado Yoroi, report to the fighting area," said Aoba.

Finally, the first member of both Kabuto's team and Kurenai's Team 8 would finally fight.

"Kick his ass Shino!" shouted Kiba.

"G-Good luck, Shino-kun..." said Hinata quietly.

Shino slightly nodded his head, but said nothing to his teammates. Naruto turned to Kiba and Hinata. "He doesn't talk much does he?"

"Not really," answered Kiba, "It was kind of creepy at first, but you get used to it." Shino's eyebrow twitched, but it went widely unnoticed by the others.

Shino stood there facing down his opponent silently, studying him intently. Yoroi was smirking behind his mack, thinking the silent Rookie was going to be easily taken out.

"Aburame Shino, Akado Yoroi... FIGHT!" shouted Aoba.

Yoroi charge at Shino, his hands glowing with flaming chakra. Shino blocked, but Yoroi merely grabbed onto his wrist with one hand and Shino's throat with the other. "Big mistake Rookie!" He laughed, "Soon all of your chakra will be depleted leaving me the victor!"

"On the contrary, you obviously don't know much about Aburame's..." said Shino calmly, "You see, we barely have enough chakra to complete most of the academy level jutsus because we already have our chakra in a state of constant drainage." Small holes appeared in Shino's face and wrist and insects started crawling out of him.

"What the...!?" shouted Yoroi in surprise, jumping away from Shino, thousands of bugs swarming all over him.

"I'm the worst possible opponent for you, as my Kikaichu Insects will feast off your chakra, weakening you and making your attack useless," stated Shino, "While you may be able to drain chakra from your opponents, it still requires a minute amount to do so. They'll leave you just enough so it won't kill you, but only just..."

Yoroi tried to swat the bugs away, but they swarmed him and eventually he lost consciousness, "Proctor the match is over... He won't be getting up..." said Shino as he adjusted his sunglasses.

* * *

"And I thought he was creepy when he I thought he just never talked..." commented Naruto. 

"You get used to that after a while too..." said Kiba.

"That Was just... Eww..." said Ino shivering in disgust.

Sakura said nothing, but silently she agreed with Ino. Though she wouldn't hold it against the boy, after all, he was almost no different than Naruto as far as having something living inside of him.

"So HE'S from the clan with the insects that live inside of them," noted Neji, "A very powerful adversary indeed."

**

* * *

**

Shino made it back to where his teammates.

"Well fought, Shino," congratulated Kurenai.

"You rocked!" shouted Kiba, "Yours was the quickest match yet!"

"C-Congratulations... Shino-kun..." said Hinata.

**

* * *

**

Before the next match could begin, Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves on the observation deck. "So... What did I miss?" he asked smiling, though it was hard to tell because only his right eye on his face was visible.

"KUSO!" shouted Naruto, "I want you to teach me that as soon as this exam is over!" he demanded.

"You say something?" asked Kakashi as he flipped open his book, which Naruto promptly snatched away.

"Nuh-uh! Teach me Shunshin, or I vaporize the book," threatened Naruto. Kakashi's eye widened in surprise.

"Alright, I'll do it, but please, please give me back my book! It's an Ultra-Rare, Authentic, Gold Special Edition signed by the author himself," pleaded Kakashi. Kurenai, Anko and Sakura's eyes narrowed at the mention of the book, while nearly everyone else stared and sweat dropped at the scene in disbelief. As soon as Naruto gave Kakashi back the book, he cradled it to his chest.

"Don't worry my precious... I won't let the bad man hurt you..." He then realized where he was and what he was doing and promptly put the book away. He was thanking Kami at that very moment that he wore a mask that covered well over the majority of his face.

"K-Kakashi-sensei... I-is Sasuke-kun alright?" asked Sakura concernedly.

"He'll be fine, he's currently resting at the moment, but he should be able to talk to you both tomorrow." Kakashi informed her and Naruto. Naruto then told Kakashi what had happened in the previous matches as the next match to be announced was...

**

* * *

**

**SIXTH MATCH:**

**Yamanaka Ino**

**vs**

**Haruno Sakura**

"You have got to be kidding me..." said Shikamaru, "Of all the people here, of all the match combinations... They had to do this one..."

"Go Sakura-chan! You can do it!" shouted Naruto.

"He can be so annoying sometimes..." said Ino looking over at Naruto cheering on Sakura.

"We're not much better though, especially with the way we've treated him and everyone else," said Sakura sadly.

Ino looked at Sakura in confusion, "What do you mean fore-head girl?"

"Just that Ino, is it really all worth it?" she asked her rival, "Sometimes we just have to grow-up and move on. Sure Naruto may be annoying sometimes, but he's always there when I've needed him, even when I didn't know it. And Sasuke-kun... It's no wonder why he's always ignored us, we were annoying. Tell me Ino, why did you become a ninja?"

The question totally caught Ino off guard, "I... Err... I don't really know..."

"I won't compete with you over Sasuke-kun with you anymore Ino, we're beyond that now... I admit that some of the reasons for becoming a kunoichi were probablly wrong, and if I'm honest with myself I probablly should have never even considered becoming a ninja," said Sakura, "But recently I've realized something... All this time I have been watching them get stronger, and all I can do is watch their backs as they fight battle after battle, protecting me from our enemies. If I don't start taking my duties as a kunoichi seriously, who knows what could happen to me. There will be a time when I'm all alone. A time when Naruto and Sasuke-kun or even Lee won't be able to save me... But I'm not going to be that girl anymore... The helpless damsel hiding behind her protectors, hoping everything will be alright, because eventually they won't be and where would that leave me?"

Sakura took off her hitai-ite and tied it around her forehead, her eyes filled with a resolve and confidence that Ino had never seen before in her former best friend. "You're no longer that girl who used to cry about kids making fun of her abnormal forehead are you Sakura? You've finally bloomed haven't you?"

"I'm no longer going to stand in your shadow... The day we became Genin, I promised I wouldn't lose to you. Now it's time to live up to that promise, to show Sasuke-kun and Naruto and everyone else just how far I've come. Don't hold back Ino. If you do, I'll never forgive you." said Sakura sternly.

"Alright Sakura, but I expect a good match up," said Ino smiling, she untied her hitai-ite taking it off her waist and placing it on her forehead as well.

The two kunoichis had a much fiercer battle than expected from the two of them. TheY fought with their all, with Ino at one point managing to trap Sakura using her hair as chakra strings to snare the pink haired kunoichi so she could possess the girl. Sakura, however was saved by a mix of Naruto's cheering and her second personality, as well as her own will to win.

Finally, it all came down to one charge. The two charged at each other until they met in the center...

"I declare..." Aoba announced, "Haruno Sakura the winner of the sixth match."

Both girls had gone for right hooks, but at the last moment Sakura duck under Ino's attack, and using as much momentum as she could, landed a powerful uppercut knocking the blonde kunoichi out cold.

Naruto and Rock Lee ran out to the fighting area to collect Ino and help a very tired Sakura back up to the observation deck.

"That's... Unexpected..." commented Shikamaru, "I'd have expected them to tie by knocking each other out..." he sighed, "Ino is going to be so troublesome once she finds out she lost to Sakura..."

Aoba turned to the screen to call the next match.

**

* * *

**

**SEVENTH MATCH:**

**Zaku Abumi**

**vs**

**Sabaku no Kankuro**

"Che... I don't care if they are our allies, an opponent is an opponent and a fight is a fight, and I've been itching for some action since that Sasuke guy messed up my arms," said Zaku to Dosu.

"It would not to well to underestimate Kankuro, he's powerful in his own right even without his brother to hide behind," warned Dosu.

"You worry far too much, a true ninja doesn't run from a battle," said Zaku arrogantly.

"A baka charges in blindly, use your head in this fight or you will lose," Dosu scolded him.

"Just watch as I tear him apart!" boasted Zaku as he made his way to the fighting area.

* * *

"So... He wants a fight, eh?" said Kankuro to Temari, "I do hope he proves more of a challenge than that Konoha-nin you fought." 

"Doubtful, I'm surprised he'd still competing with his injuries. End it quickly, we don't have all day," said Temari coldly.

"Yeah, Yeah... quit being so pushy..." said Kankuro as he left his older sister and younger brother.

* * *

Zaku and Kankuro both stood motionlessly, staring at each other, both with confident smirks on their faces. 

"Zaku Abumi vs Sabaku no Kankuro... Ready... Fight!" shouted Aoba. Neither combatant moved.

"Shall we get this started, or are you going to stare stupidly at me all day?" asked Kankuro.

"Don't underestimate me," said a smirking Zaku. "Why don't you show me what you're made of."

"With pleasure!" said Kankuro, taking the bandaged bundle off his back.

Zaku saw his opening as he pulled his arm out of his sling and shouted, "Zankuha!" A large burst of air shot out from his arm and blasted Kankuro. He dropped his bundle and rolled back several feet.

"Heh... My sister hits harder than you!" taunted Kankuro, "You imitation wind attacks are pathetic. I won't even have to take off the kiddie gloves!"

"Imitation eh!? Take this!" shouted Zaku angrily, pulling out his other arm, "Zankukyokuha!"

Kankuro took the blast full on. He slammed against the wall, which shattered against the impact. He slumped to the ground, flat on his face.

"It's over," said Zaku confidently.

"N-Not... Yet..." said Kankuro weakly, straining to get up.

"I'll be merciful and end your life," said Zaku, "A weakling like you shouldn't be a shinobi anyway." He grabbed Kankuro's hood, while drawing a kunai, ready to slit Kankuro's throat. "Say good bye."

"Good bye!" said Kankuro, but the sound came from behind Zaku. He looked at the Kankuro he had and saw the face cracking off, revealing a marionette puppet.

"What!?" He turned around to see Kankuro being unraveled from the bundle, stings made of chakra coming from his fingers. Zaku's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Shit..."

Two additional arms then burst out of the puppet on each side and wrapped themselves around Zaku. "How do you like Karasu?" he taunted, "It ends now!" He manipulated the strings and the grip on the arms tightened. Zaku screamed out in pain, and Karasu's mouth opened and a small cloud of poison was released in Zaku's face.

"K-Kuso..." Zaku mumbled as he slumped to the ground, beaten by Kankuro's puppet.

"The winner of the seventh match... Sabaku no Kankuro!"

"All to easy," declared Kankuro arrogantly as he rejoined his siblings.

"Shut up," said Gaara who had hardly said a thing the entire time. Kankuro did so promptly, and even Temari was hesitant to make another sound, both fearing for their lives.

The screen began to cycle through the remaining names.

**

* * *

**

**EIGHTH MATCH:**

**Rock Lee**

**vs**

**Tsurugi Misumi**

"Both fighters report to the staging area," said Aoba. "The eighth match... Rock Lee vs Tsurugi Misumi! Fight!"

Rock Lee took to the Goken stance immediately.

"Rock Lee, the taijutsu kid..." said Misumi, "I am the worst opponent for you, as my abilities will make your simple taijutsu useless. Give up before you get hurt."

"If I am to prove my nindo, I can not give in to your demand," said Lee, "I will show everyone here that one can become great with just the use of taijutsu."

"Don't say I didn't warn you kid," said Misumi as he charge Lee.

Lee countered with a punch and became a blur of motion all around the Konoha-nin. The more and more Lee punched, the less it seemed to affect Tsurugi Misumi. "Konoha Daisenpu!" Shouted Lee as he kicked Misumi full force in the head. The Konoha-nin was knocked down to the ground, his neck at an unnatural angle. Everyone stared at Lee in horror at what had happened. Lee couldn't believe it himself.

Suddenly there same a laugh from the corpse as he righted his neck.

"B-But how!?" asked Lee shocked.

"It's my special ability, the Nan no Kaizo (Soft Physic Modification), It allows me to dislocate any and all of my bones and control my body with the use of my chakra," said Misumi. "As I said, it's the worst possible match up for your 'ultimate taijutsu'."

"No matter, I will find a way to defeat you!" said Rock Lee confidently, "It will only prove my nindo in doing so."

"Lee! Take them off!" shouted Gai.

"B-but... Gai-sensei... You said I could only do that to protect someone who is precious to me!" replied Lee.

"Don't worry Lee, I'll allow it this time!" shouted Gai.

"Yes!" saluted Lee.

"Like taking off a couple of pounds is going to make a difference?" mocked Misumi. This was thought by many of the others watching the match. Only Kakashi, Naruto, Gai, Neji, and Ten-Ten seemed to believe that the removal of Lee's weights seemed to be some sort of trump card. As odd as Naruto found both Rock Lee and Maito Gai, he had to admit they knew their stuff and were great at what they do. Still, even Naruto was unprepared for what happened next.

Only Team Gai and Kakashi did not gape openly at the sight, though Kakashi did mentally admit to himself he was impressed, not that he'd ever tell Maito Gai that...

Lee pulled down his orange leg warmers revealing two fairly small weights with the word 'GUTS' inscribed in them. Lee took them off and stood up holding them in his hands. He spread his arms out to either side of him and dropped the weights. The size of the craters made by the dropped weights was very impressive.

Lee disappeared in a blur.

"I-I can barely follow his movements anymore..." said Naruto in astonishment. "I can barely see a green blur..." Ten-Ten looked impressed at Naruto.

"That's why my Lee is a true genius of hard work!" exclaimed Gai.

Tsurugi Misumi's eyes widened in shock as Lee was now spinning all around him. Like before, Lee's hits seemed to have little affect, but this time Misumi was taking an active role in attempting to dodge or block Lee's attacks. He seemed to be getting more and more wore out however as with each attack he narrowly evaded or blocked, his movements were becoming more and more sluggish. However, as the fight drew on, even Lee was getting tired as Naruto pointed out that Lee was slowing, even if it wasn't by much.

Wanting to finish this fight soon, Lee charged as Misumi and jumped into the air while spinning forward. "Konoha Raiken (Leaf Thunderfist)!" he shouted, delivering a powerful punch to Misumi.

Misumi's head snapped back and his whole body seemed to stretch as he was sent flying.

"I see..." observed Lee, "There seems to be a limit to your stretching. "For me to end this quickly, I have no choice." he began to unwrap his bandages.

* * *

'So..." observed Dosu, 'He's going to use THAT move...' 

"Prepare yourself! Kaimon, Kai (Open Gate, Release)! Kyuumon, Kai (Energy Gate, Release)!"

* * *

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Gai, did you do THAT?" asked Kakashi with a somewhat shocked and aggravated tone. 

"It is as you suspect, Kakashi," said Gai.

"So that boy, a mere Genin, has the use the Hachimon (Eight Gates)?" asked Kakashi, "And what about the Ura Renge (Reverse Lotus)?"

"Ura Renge?" asked a confused Neji, looking at Kakashi and Gai curiously, Naruto, Ten-Ten, and Sakura were paying close attention now too.

"Yes..." said Gai hesitantly.

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye, "Kuso, Gai... How many gates is he able to open?"

"Five," answered Gai.

"Kakashi-sensei, what is the Hachimon and the Ura Renge?" asked Sakura, "I know the Omote Renge, Lee used it when he helped us in during the Second Exam." It was a proud looking Gai, not Kakashi, who explained to Sakura the basic learnings behind the Eight Inner Gates.

"The Omote Renge is a move that opens the Kaimon (Open Gate)," said Gai, he explained the effects of opening the first gate and it's draw backs afterwards.

"What about the Ura Renge?" she inquired.

"It opens the second gate, the Kyuumon (Energy Gate)," he then explained that gate to Sakura. "However to complete the technique, one has to have the Seimon (Life Gate) open."

"B-But... The Omote Renge puts enough strain on his body as it is, anymore could...!" she exclaimed worriedly.

"Exactly," Kakashi interrupted as he pulled up his hitai-ite to watch Lee preforming the Lotus "By opening all the gates, one could gain temporary powers to surpass even a Kage... But that person would ultimately die." Sakura gasped at the information.

**

* * *

**

Lee crossed his arms and seemed to be summoning great amounts of power. Lee's eyes were now pupil-less and the veins on his head were bulging. "Seimon Kai (Life Gate Release)!" His skin began to turn red as raw, untamed power swirled around him.

* * *

"Impressive," commented Kakashi, despite knowing Lee could open five of the eight gates, to see him actually open three of them before his very eyes was still a sight to see. "Watch closely Naruto, Sakura, he's about to make his move." **

* * *

**

Lee began to glow green before he shot off like a rocket. "KONOHA SHOFU (Leaf Rising Wind)!" he suddenly appeared in front of Misumi and kicked him solidly in the chin. The Konoha-nin shot up into the air despite his abilities to stretch and absorb impacts. Everyone the room had to cover their faces from the explosion and shockwave of power.

Lee suddenly appeared above Misumi and head butted him hard. His opponent shock towards the ground but Lee was already behind him delivering a solid kick to his back sending him back into the air. Everyone watched in awe as Tsurugi Misumi was being bounced around the fighting area like a small pinball.

With a powerful backhand, sent the man shooting toward the floor. Lee appeared under him, and jumped at him, kneeing him hard in the back. Lee reappeared back on the ground and jumped travelling at an ever high velocity as Misumi. He touched down on the ceiling of the fighting area before shooting back towards his opponent.

* * *

"His muscles have ripped..." observed Kakashi.

* * *

'That's Lee...!?' thought Neji impressed. His Byakugan was activated as that was the only way he could follow Lee's movements, movements to which he noted only Kakashi, Gai, the Hokage, and the Suna Jonin had no trouble following. Naruto also seemed to be able to follow Lee's movements, but only just barely, which actually did impress Neji, not that he would admit it, because he wasn't using his Jagan to do so.

* * *

"This is the end!" shouted Lee. "Shoumon, Kai (Wound Gate Release)!" 

Misumi was going to try and counter, but his stretched fist missed Lee completely as he dematerialized from in front of the stretchy Konoha-nin. Lee rematerialized inside his guard and smashed his forearms and head full force into Tsurugi Misumi. He then shot back up to the ceiling again, only this time, his bandages were wrapped around Misumi's waist.

* * *

'That That isn't the same move...' thought Dosu in shock and awe at Lee's power and skill. **

* * *

**

Lee pulled back on his bandages as he shot back down to the ground, delivering a mighty palm thrust to Misumi's midsection. "URA RENGE!"

Both fighters hit the ground hard. Misumi left a crater, while Lee landed unceremoniously bouncing once and rolling several yards away. The pain in his body was so great it was all he could do to stand. Misumi, however was out cold.

"The winner of the eighth match... ROCK LEE!" shouted Aoba, who had barely recovered from the shock of such a spectacular match.

**

* * *

**

Hyuuga Neji stared at the screen contemplating the opponents he had left as both Misumi and Rock Lee were carried off in stretchers. Kazama Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata... Of the three of them, only Kazama was worth his time, even if he knew none of the three of them stood a chance.

The Inuzuka was a mongrel, someone who used a dog in combat to make up for his own short comings. A savage beast who was more of a brawler and had shown no style what-so-ever.

Hinata-sama... The spoiled little girl was going to get what was coming to her if he had to face her. The only thing more satisfying that the beating he could/would give her, would be to humiliate her and the entire Main Branch by watching her cower in fear and forfeit the match between the two of them.

Kazama... He was an enigma. It was only the unknown factors that mace him more on par with the Hyuuga Prodigy. However, Neji knew enough about the eye to know that he could easily beat the dobe of his younger cousin's class. Despite his kekkei genkai, how hard could it be to beat him. With time his power COULD rival Neji's but it was too soon since he had left the academy, and NO ONE could have improved that much.

**

* * *

**

**NINTH MATCH:**

**Uzumaki Naruto**

**vs**

**Inuzuka Kiba**

"Alright!" shouted Kiba, "This is going to be easy!"

Hinata was dismayed. Of the three left, one had been her teammate, one her cousin that she saw as an older brother, and the third, her crush, the one person she admired more than anyone save her own mother when she was still alive.

She was now faced with two dilemmas... First, she couldn't decide if she should support Kiba or her precious Naruto-kun... The second... She was going to be facing Neji.

"I'm going to advance for sure! I got lucky in drawing such a weak opponent," said Kiba smugly.

"K-Kiba-kun... N-N-Naruto-kun... H-he... He is much stronger th-than you think..." Hinata stuttered standing up for Naruto.

"Maybe, but I won't lose to the dobe," said a confident Kiba.

"Hey Inu-Teme! Get your ass down here so I can send you to the infirmary!" shouted Naruto from the fighting area.

Kiba growled in annoyance, "Big talk coming from you, dobe!"

"Kiba," said a normal silent Shino, "Do not underestimate Naruto, my Kikaichu have been reacting strangely to him since he and his team arrived, it would not do to take him lightly."

"Che.. I won't even have to take this fight seriously," said Kiba confidently, "Look at his arm, he can barely even move it!" He then jumped down to the fighting area where Naruto was waiting for him.

"For you, Inu-Teme, I'll only need one arm," said Naruto as he eased into an actual fighting stance. He put his left arm behind his back and his right arm in front of him, as he spread his feet shoulder length apart, right in front of the left. His charred hand curled into a fist, Naruto winced visibly at the pain.

"Quit trying to show off!" shouted Kiba.

"The ninth match of the preliminary round, Uzumaki Naruto vs Inuzuka Kiba, fight!" shouted Aoba.

"Come at me with everything you have!" challenged Naruto.

"Gladly!" replied Kiba. He did a hand seal. "Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)!" Kiba's already longer than average canines seemed to sharpen as his nails seemed to sharpen into claws. His eyes and mannerisms also seemed to take on a more feral look as his muscles seemed to bulge a bit. "Akamaru, stay back! I'll take him down alone!" Akamaru yelped in response.

To everyone's astonishment, Naruto made a hand seal with his left hand. Neji activated his Byakugan and watched as the chakra formed in Naruto's hand. "What are you waiting for Inu-Teme? I want you to put up some sort of fight before I put you down in one move like pale-eyes up there!" He yelled at Kiba, jerking his head in Neji's direction.

Had he taken his eyes off of Kiba to look at Neji, he'd have seen a glare that would have made Zabuza and Kakashi's combined killing intent seem tame. Each of the Jonin's were shocked by the by not only the statement, but also by Neji's lack of refute and the glare he was giving the blonde Konoha-nin.

Hinata's eyes widened in shock as she looked back and forth between her enfuriated cousin and a confident Naruto who seemed to be in perfect control of his fight. Her admiration for Naruto grew. 'Naruto-kun... You've got their attention... Show them... Show everyone what you can do...'

"Big talk!" shouted Kiba, "You're going down!" Kiba disappeared in a blur of motion. When this happened, Naruto smirked. He had completed the final five hand seals required for his next attack. Kiba saw the smirk and tried to slow down. He began to skid on the stone floor.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" shouted Naruto as he swung his inflamed arm at Kiba. Kiba just barely managed to evade the fiery uppercut, but his jacket and face were still lightly singed. He jumped backwards to get out of the way as Naruto brought his hand back down. When Naruto struck the ground there was a small explosion.

Many looked at the battle in awe of the sight. Kiba was among the first to recover. "H-How!? What the hell!?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Maybe now you'll take this fight seriously." Kiba was slightly intimidated when Naruto's eyes became slitted.

"Fine, then, I'm not holding back any longer!" shouted Kiba, "Don't cry when I snatch your dreams right from your fingers!" Kiba drew two purple balls from the punch at his waist and threw them at Naruto's feet. The exploded in a large cloud of smoke. Before Kiba could move, there was a teal flash from inside the cloud and a small shockwave of power and the smoke as cleared.

"Try again," scolded Naruto. "My nose is almost as good as yours, my hearing is better and unlike you I can actually see through the smoke. I'm not going to let you charge into your own slaughter."

Kiba growled in frustration and annoyance. "Let's see how you like this!" He then pulled out two small red pills, one was give to Akamaru and he took one for himself. Akamaru began shaking and his fur turned red.

"Hey, is that even legal?" Naruto asked Aoba.

"Soldier Pills, much like Kiba's dog, Shino's bugs, Kankuro's puppets and your sword are considered ninja tools. As such they are permissible." he replied.

"Fine, do your worst Inu-Teme!" said Naruto annoyed.

"Akamaru!" shouted Kiba as he crouched low and formed a hand seal. Akamaru jumped on his back. "Jujin Bunshin! (Beast/Human Clone)" With a puff of smoke Akamaru became an exact double of Kiba.

Naruto looked bored. "Please, twice the Inu-Teme, twice the loss." he taunted. Naruto closed his eyes in concentration. His own nails became claws, and his whisker birthmarks widened and his own canines lengthened. Many around the room tensed, not knowing how to react, however they were somewhat reassured when the noticed Kakashi not making a move."You're outmatched Kiba, give up."

"Che... What can you do?" asked Kiba mockingly. He nearly flinched back when Naruto opened not two, but three eyes, two of them being slitted and blood red, the third, the one in the middle of his forehead, was slitted and blue.

**

* * *

**

Up on the observation deck the people who had no prior knowledge of Naruto's Jagan jumped in shock as did a few that had seen it before.

"What the hell is that!?" asked Temari.

"That is the Jagan," said her Jonin sensei, Baki. "A rare Kekkei Genkai said to have been wiped out when a powerful demon attacked this village many years ago. The Yondaime Hokage, Konoha no Kiroi Senko, was the only know person to possess this Kekkei Genkai. You would do well never to insult that eye."

"Why?" asked Kankuro, as Baki's warning seemed off.

"You won't survive. With the emergence of the Yondaime's son, our plans are now complicated. With the Kekkei Genkai alone, he might possibly match Gaara without it's help... The fact that he's the one you said is a Jinchuuriki like Gaara means that even with Shukaku's help, our victory is no longer assured." Baki said grimly.

**

* * *

**

The Jagan's iris began to glow brightly. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!" he shouted.

More shock hit many around the room.

'That's an ANBU level technique, Naruto-kun...' thought the Sandaime, 'You've come far haven't you...'

Naruto then charged at his opponent, his fist cocked back. Both Kiba and Akamaru tried to fight the jutsu to no avail. They stayed rooted in place as Naruto used Kiba's head as a springboard while fiercely driving his elbow into Akamaru's face. The Kiba look alike was knocked back into the wall hard as the impact left a small crater. The Jujin Bunshin dispelled as Akamaru hit the floor.

"Akamaru!" shouted Kiba.

"Still think I'm a simple dobe?" taunted Naruto, who was panting heavily. His demonic features had receded, his now sapphire eyes weren't even slitted anymore.

"Tsuuga (Piercing Fang)!" shouted Kiba without warning. His attack slammed into Naruto head on and he was sent flying through the air. Naruto hit the ground in a disheveled heap.

"Naruto! Naruto-kun!" shouted Sakura and Hinata respectively.

"He's done!" Kiba spat, "He's not getting up."

"Wanna bet... I'm not losing to you... You're not going to stand in my way in becoming Hokage..." said Naruto, wincing in pain.

"Still spouting off that garbage!" taunted Kiba, "You can barely move, your arm is useless. You got some lucky hits in, but in the end you're still just a simple dobe. Face it, I'm more qualified to be Hokage than you are! Even with that eye trick you still couldn't beat me!"

Now Kakashi tensed.

"How dare you mock me..." Naruto growled. The air became heavy. Naruto's Jagan began to flow brightly as black chakra swirled around him. "In a fight to become Hokage, you will ALWAYS be the underdog, because I refuse to run away... To give up on my dream... I WILL be Hokage!"

**

* * *

**

Only Gaara was not afraid of the sight before him. Ino was having a sense of deja vu as she watched as Naruto's fury paralyzed nearly the whole room.

* * *

Kiba was frozen in place as Naruto casually took a few steps towards him. 

"It's about time you learned proper respect Inu-Teme," Naruto hissed as he concentrated everything he could on Kiba. "Jaganashi Kiku no Jutsu..."

The glow of Naruto's Jagan intensified as the area surrounding Kiba and Naruto turned pitch black. Then Naruto faded out of existence as well and Kiba was alone. Kiba began to panic.

* * *

"H-Hello...!" he called out. He realized he was in a genjutsu and bit down on his hand, but felt no pain. "Shit..." he cursed. 

"Monster!" "Demon!" "Begone!" "Leave our children alone!" "Get out of here!" he heard various shouts of the villagers. He looked around and saw various people looking at him in disgust and hatred and even fear.

They cursed him, threw various objects, they scorned him. He was shunned. He watched as the people who were nice to him were punished harshly. Everywhere he turned he could feel their loathing.

He watched as Kurenai, Shino and Hinata, as well as the other Rookies turning their backs on him. He was his own mother's look of contempt as she spat on him. Kiba looked pleadingly at Akamaru, but the dog let out a small whine and bowed his head before retreating into the crowd.

It felt as if someone had jammed a kunai deep into his chest. He was alone, abandoned... But... Why? He didn't understand. Why?

Then he saw something he'd never even seen in his worst nightmares, the visage of a fox as large as the tallest buildings he had ever seen. The fox had blood red slitted eyes and nine tails. He was staring into the face of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the same demon that was defeated by the Yondaime Hokage. He wasn't sure why, but he was positive the fox had something to do with everything he'd seen and experienced.

"Why!?" he shouted at the fox.

* * *

He suddenly came out of the genjutsu, he was on his knees, tears streaming down his face. Naruto gave him a pitying look. "Why..." he whispered. 

"Now you know a little of what it was like... But that barely scratches the surface..." said Naruto just loud enough for him and Kiba to hear. "That's why I will become Hokage, because I didn't give in and buckle under the pressure, because I will do my absolute best to make sure no one has to suffer like that ever..."

Kiba's hands were on his head as he tried to shake out the images. "Why?"

"I can't answer that right now..." said Naruto, "Examiner, it's over. He can no longer fight."

Aoba nodded. "The winner of the ninth match," he looked over at Naruto questioningly, Naruto shook his head slightly, "Uzumaki Naruto." Kiba was promptly taken to the infirmary to deal with whatever Naruto had done to him.

* * *

He looked around the room, everyone was in shock as the watched Naruto and Kiba stare each other down when Naruto's eye started to glow. They were unprepared when Kiba suddenly slumped to the ground crying, asking why over and over.

* * *

Only Kakashi recognized the technique Naruto used. "Was that necessary Naruto? How did you manage to use the technique?" 

"The Jagan... It... It teaches me... sort of..." explained Naruto, "It's only happened twice before on the bridge and in the forest when I used both the Mortal and Darkness Flames for the first time. It's like the Jagan already knows what to do and when it thinks I'm ready it just sort of puts the knowledge into my brain..."

Kakashi gained a thoughtful look, "Hmm... Hopefully the man the Sandaime contacted is in town, because his expertise will be needed before we can come to any solid conclusions to your observations..."

"Now the final match of the preliminaries..." said Aoba

**

* * *

**

**FINAL MATCH:**

**Hyuuga Hinata**

**vs**

**Hyuuga Neji**

"Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji, Fight!" shouted Aoba.

The fight that followed was a brutal psychological on as Neji broke down barrier after barrier of the girl's confidence. Try as she might, she couldn't refute anything that he had said to her, and she was close to breaking down and forfeiting their match. She knew she couldn't beat him. She wasn't like Naruto-kun... He was strong and brave and never gave up, while she was frail and weak. Yet hope filled her when Naruto-kun spoke up for her and encouraged her.

Ever last bit of confidence she lost and more returned to her as Naruto cheered her on, but determination wasn't enough. Neji gradually but surely broke her down little by little.

As he watched the match Naruto was getting angrier and angrier with the way Neji was playing with Hinata, not even taking her seriously. It didn't help when Gai explained the Main and Branch Houses of the Hyuuga Clan to him. Naruto's Jagan began to glow menacingly as Neji struck Hinata in the chest. White she was hit with a soft palm strike, mixed with the abilities of the Hyuuga fighting style, Jyuuken (Gentle Fist), it was deadly. Kakashi had to grab his shoulder when Hinata hit the floor, but she managed to stand up on her own.

"I'm... Not going to... Take back... My... Words..." she said as she struggled to return to a vertical base, her breathing labored, blood trickling from her mouth. Neji was shocked by the pure righteous fury in her eyes. He saw her eyes cut back to where Naruto stood. "That's my nindo..." she gasped out, her voice filled with determination, her stance screamed defiance.

Kurenai was impressed with Hinata, the young girl had come a long way from the timid little girl, whose own father considered a failure all those years ago.

Hinata did something unexpected, she smiled even as her cousin still held that superior sneer.

* * *

"Wow... Hinata... Who'd have thought she was so tough..." said Naruto amazed. 

"She's a lot like you, you know..." commented Ten-Ten.

"Come to think of it, she is always watching you," noted Sakura

"Huh?" Naruto asked, but got no answer in return. He turned his attention back to Hinata and Neji's fight, putting off what Sakura said for the time being. 'Hinata...'

**

* * *

**

For the first time, Hinata activated her Byakugan with out the use of hand seals. As she took to the Jyuuken stance, she grabbed he chest and coughed up more blood. Neji did not care as he was prepared to defend himself.

**

* * *

**

Naruto could hear the whispering of the others. Of how she wouldn't last, and how Neji was too strong. He became more and more frustrated as it went on. Finally he had enough. "Hinata! You can do it! Do your best!" he shouted.

* * *

"Naruto-kun..." she whispered, Neji was shocked when her smile faded once more into that determined look and she charged at him. 'I've watched you all this time... For many years even,' she thought as she battled on, 'I don't know why, but... When I watch you... I feel more courage within myself... Like I can accomplish anything if I try... Like I am worth something...' Her thoughts were interrupted by a vicious plam strike to the face and she was knocked back from Neji. She was able to remain standing, but she began to cough again. 

"Hinata!" Naruto gasped out.

'Naruto-kun... I've only watched you...But finally...' she thought as she charged Neji head on again. 'You're the one watching me... Naruto-kun!' It was the final charge as Neji hit Hinata with yet another critical strike. Her Byakugan faded as she slumped to the ground.

"Too stubborn for your own good. Your attacks had no affect on me to begin with. It's over." He said with prideful finality as his own Byakugan was deactivated.

"Since Hyuuga Hinata can no-"

"Do NOT stop the match!" shouted Naruto.

"She can no longer fight! She's done Naruto-baka!" scolded Sakura.

"Look," he said with a small smile.

Hinata began to rise again. She had nothing left, just sheer determination and will to fight.

"Why do you stand? If you push yourself anymore, you will die," Neji stated. She did not answer, and when she didn't he narrowed his eyes, "Why?" he demanded. Neji reactivated his Byakugan.

"I-I can still fight..." Hinata said.

"There's no longer any point of continuing this... You can barely stand," said Neji coldly. "You can not change your fate. You have suffered greatly over the fate of the Main and Branch Houses of the Hyuuga Clan. You may have cursed your own powerlessness and worked hard to rid yourself of your weakness, but you can not change. This is destiny. There is no need to suffer any longer, give up."

"You are wrong Neji-nii-san... Because I can see that you are suffering far more than I..." she said gasping for air. "You are the one who is confused and suffering over the fate of the Main and Branch Families of the Hyuuga Clan."

In a fit of anger, Neji charge Hinata head on. "Neji! The match is over!" shouted Aoba, but Neji ignored him, intent in silencing the young kunoichi whose words hit too close to home.

Neji was engulfed in a puff of smoke.

When it cleared, everyone nearly collapsed in shock. Neji was being held back by Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Aoba, but that wasn't the shocking thing. What surprised everyone was the tip of Naruto's sword that was mere centimeters away from Neji's right eye as he stood between Hinata and Neji, this time all three eyes were slitted and crimson. The other Konoha-nins went down to the fighting area on instinct, rationality having left when Neji attempted to kill Hinata.

"I don't pretend to understand anything about the Hyuuga Clan and the Main and Branch Families... But I do know one thing... What you just tried to do was out of line..."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered, gasping for air, as she went into a coughing fit and collapsed to her knees. Kurenai release her hold on Neji to tend to Hinata.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "It's too bad they were able to stop you... Just a little more and you would have at least lost one eye... Eyes you seem to be awfully proud of."

Before anyone could move Ino intervened. "Naruto, don't... Just... Don't..." she pleaded as she grabbed onto Naruto. She had already seen Sasuke change forever in her eyes, she didn't need Naruto to take that next step as well. It was now Dosu, Shikamaru, and Chouji who were having feelings of deja vu. "Please..."

Naruto lowered his blade, but did no sheath it. Ino maintained her grip around Naruto's waist.

"Listen Dobe..." said Neji scathingly, "You got lucky in the Forest of Death. But, I will warn you only once, on two things. First, you are a shinobi, stop it with that unsightly cheering for people you barely know. Second... A drop out, will ALWAYS be a drop out. They can not change. They are forever fated to be losers, no matter how hard they try."

Naruto started to step forward, his sapphire eyes still slitted, but he was held back by Ino. "Do you what to find out for sure?" he asked, as he became more and more furious with the superior smirk on Neji's face.

"Naruto, don't..." intervened Ten-Ten as she looked at Neji scathingly, "He's not worth it. Wait until the Final Exam, show him just what someone can do with hard work." Neji's eyes narrowed at Ten-Ten's harsh words. "Beat him again then. I'm sure Lee wouldn't mind if you did, he'd probablly see you as a much more worthy rival than the Hyuuga."

Gai frowned as it seemed Neji's problems with the Main Branch had finally spilled over to other aspects of his life. He was glad that there would be no missions for his team for the next month as he doubted Ten-Ten would be willing to even train with Neji at all. Lee would at his request, but not even Lee would give Neji his all after the Hyuuga's behavior.

Naruto visibly relaxed, "Fine..." he said with clenched teeth. Both Ten-Ten and Ino took a step back from him as he turned towards Hinata's unconscious form. Anger, sadness, revulsion, pride and many other emotions flooded him as he looked upon her broken, but not beaten form.

"For one who has a Kekkei Genkai that sees everything, you are blind," Naruto said bluntly his back to Neji. "You think being a genius, a so called prodigy, makes you strong. That because you were born with more talent than some people could ever hope to have that you were fated to victorious, that it was your destiny to be strong. Bullshit. If you want to see real strength look at Hinata. True strength doesn't come from natural ability or hard work. True strength comes from a willingness to never give up, and to protect and stand up for what is precious to you. Hinata understood that, and I'll prove it too you when I hand you your ass in the finals," said Naruto angrily.

* * *

Neji's eyes narrowed during Naruto's speech, but before he could even think to try and rush the annoying Genin, both Gai and Kakashi tightened their grips on the Hyuuga prodigy. Naruto watched as the med-nins and Kurenai left with Hinata. 

Kurenai turned to give a grateful look to Naruto and a harsh glare to Neji as she left.

**

* * *

**

Naruto's speech however, had a much different affect on Gaara, as the bloodlust he had been feeling, the need for blood and battle had strangely vanished. He was breathing heavily, and was absently rubbing his chest, remembering words spoken to him a long time ago. For the first time in many years, Temari saw a true emotion grace her brother's face. She saw him not as the demon sealed inside of him, or as her father's weapon, but as the little boy who desperately wanted... Needed... The love and affection denied him for so long.

**

* * *

**

Naruto stood over a small pool of Hinata's blood. He kneeled down and brushed his fingers in it.

Many were confused by this action, but Sakura understood at once. She'd seen him do this once or twice before, the symbolism was unmistakable.

"Hinata..." He whispered. "I promise..." Naruto then stood, Hinata's blood dripping from his hand as he turned to face Neji. "I will face you in the finals, and I WILL win!" Naruto then turned away, his fist still clenched and walked after Hinata and Kurenai to check to see how she was doing, as well as to check up on Sasuke and Rock Lee.

"Before you go Naruto, the winners of the preliminary rounds must draw a number to decide their placement in the Chuunin Exam Final Rounds," said Aoba calling Naruto back.

"What about Sasuke and Lee?" he asked.

"Their senseis will draw for them as they are in the infirmary recovering from their matches," Aoba informed them.

"Alright gakis, line up and you will be able to draw your numbers. Call out your numbers as you receive them," said Anko holding a large box.

One by one, each of the genins pulled their numbers.

"Six," said Shino.

"Eight," Sakura read.

"Troublesome... Ten..." replied Shikamaru.

"Sasuke is Four," Kakashi informed them.

"One," said Naruto. He then went to leave, but then decided to stick around, his Jagan open.

Neji went to draw next, as he reached into the box, everyone felt a small pulse of chakra.

"Two," said Neji coldly. Many looked at Naruto suspiciously, before resuming the drawing.

"Five," said Gaara emotionlessly.

"I'm Seven," said Kankuro.

"Nine," added Temari.

That means Lee is number Three," said Gai proudly.

"Alright, Numbers one and two and nine and ten will have to fight an extra round during the finals. The winners of those matches will face numbers three and eight." explained Aoba, "So the first match will be Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji. The Second match will be Nara Shikamaru vs Sabaku no Temari. The winner of the first match will face Rock Lee in the first match of the Next round and the winner of the second match will face Haruno Sakura in the last match of the same round. Uchiha Sasuke will face Sabaku no Gaara and Aburame Shino will face Sabaku no Kankuro."

The Sandaime then addressed the Genins. "The Third Exam will resume in one month's time, so be sure to train as hard as you can and show everyone how far each of you have come since becoming shinobi. Dismissed."

Sakura turned to Neji as they were all leaving, "You talk about destiny and fate... You have just sealed yours, because Naruto ALWAYS keeps his promises, no matter how big or how small. One way or another he always succeeds."

Neji dismissed the girl with a condescending grunt, not believing for a moment that a dobe who failed the Genin Exam three times could possibly stand up to a shinobi of his caliber. Fate was already decided. He would put the drop out losers Kazama Naruto and Rock Lee in their place, then he'd show whoever one between the Uchiha and the Suna-nin with the gourd just who was the superior shinobi.

_

* * *

__A/N: __It's done folks, I hoped you enjoyed Chapter Seven. I know I did. I even threw in some light Naru/Hina moments as well as a Naru/Ino one._

_Next chapter, Team 7 goes their separate ways... We have an idea of who may or may not be training Naruto, and who is training Sasuke, but who will Sakura train under as she too has made it to the finals._

_So in the chapter training begins, what surprises are in the future for Team 7 and you the fans._

_Chapter 8 will more than likely not be posted for another two weeks, just fair warning. If I can get it up sooner I will, but we'll have to see._


	8. One Month Break, Training for the Exam

_A/N: I have to admit, Chapter 7 has given me some of the best reviews I have received yet. I am sooo glad I took an extra week on this chapter, as truthfully I needed it! Now, to address some things I found I should address to the general public._

_**ninfan**__: Naruto, desperate not to rely on Kyuubi, will use the Darkness Dragon to augment his powers, however he will NOT be able to absorb the Darkness Dragon and use the Kyuubi's youki at the same time._

_**Ero-EroKitsune:**__ Yeah, I figured it would be good to switch up and let everyone see some never before seen fights. Sorry, but Naruto will NOT be using the Darkness Technique on Neji._

_**Zoray Zorial:**__ The whole point of the Ino vs Sakura fight in canon was to show Sakura's growth as a person and her stepping out of Ino's shadow and taking things as a kunoichi seriously. The affect of the scene isn't wasted, as Sakura has done more training this time around and has taken her role as a kunoichi more seriously sooner. In canon, Sakura and Ino were equals. This Sakura was slightly stronger than Canon!Sakura, so I figured it was logical that Sakura should win. However, I had originally planned for Sakura to tie with Ino again, but I have never seen Sakura actually progress to the finals in any fic I've read. She's either tied or lost to Ino straight out, so I figured I'd go somewhere different with this one._

_**FFFanatic:**__ Lee faced Misumi, Shino faced Yoroi (Two fights I've yet to see in another fic). Also, while Misumi is nowhere near Gaara's level, Lee still would have had to release at least the first if not second gates to defeat Misumi. However, in his drive to fight Sasuke, Neji and Naruto I believe Lee would have opened the third gate and used the Ura Renge at least to make sure Misumi stayed down, though I will concede that opening the fourth gate was probablly overkill, I like the scene how it is regardless._

_**Kurama:**__ To be brutally honest, I haven't completely thought out the whole Jagan teaching Naruto jutsu part yet. But it was the only way I could explain him using the Mortal and Darkness Flames without training from Kyuubi or Hiei. It will hold the basic knowledge of manipulation of certain techniques, but from there it's up to the wielder. Rasengan and Hiraishin no Jutsu will NOT be learned from the Jagan. In response to your second review, I honestly hadn't even thought about Naruto using more Genjutsu than he has already. Though the Jagan will make it easier for him to do so, the Kyuubi prevents him from using wide scale genjutsu in battle. Naruto's talents will reside more in kenjutsu and ninjutsu and to a much lesser extent taijutsu with little genjutsu. Though you've given me something to think about, he may learn/use more at a later time._

_**Anonymous:**__ I can't even count your review as a flame because you really didn't blast my story all that badly. It was more of a rant or a harsh rebuke. However, there would have been no point to drawing out the identity of the bloodline as the Yondaime was very well known. The moment Naruto used the Jagan all the adults and possibly younger members from the more prominent clans would have recognized it for what it was right away. Besides, the main focus is more action based rather than suspensful. I apologize for ruining the fic for you, but It's flowing exactly how I want it and I don't regret where this fic has been going thus far._

_**ALL:**__ Ships will largely remain undecided until the time skip. I can say for sure he won't be with any of the older kunoichi's in this fic (i.e. Anko, Tsunade, Kurenai, Shizune, Yugao, etc.) nor will he be likely to be paired with any of the lesser used females (Yugito, Sasame, Yuki, etc.). The pairing for Naruto will more than likely be between Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Ten-Ten, Temari or Harem (though I am not sure if I can actually do the last one effectively and maintain the quality of the fic). Sorry to disappoint, but I have to write within what I am comfortable in writing and I will use this fics most natural feeling couple as the main pairing when the time comes._

_Also, a small disappointment to you all, there will be NO Akkiton/Goukaton: Rasengan. Sorry, mixing the Rasengan with the Darkness/Mortal Flame is too overused. However, there will be a sort of super powered Hybrid of the Rasengan that will be used in conjunction with the Darkness Dragon in much later chapters. Think of it as a compromise. I promise you will NOT be disappointed._

_Now I suppose I should quit boring you all and get on with the chapter..._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eight: One Month Break, Training for the Exam**

* * *

Two days after the preliminary round for the Third and final portion of the Chuunin Selection Exams, Kakashi's Team 7 found themselves on their same old training ground. A Training Ground, that little did they know, held significant importance. It was the same one the Shodaime and the Nidaime had frequently used when they taught the Sandaime Hokage and his two teammates Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Sarutobi continued to utilize the training ground when he implemented the very first 'bell test' with his talented students Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya. Tradition was kept as Jiraiya took on his own Genin team years later, on that very training ground as he trained Naruto's father, Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage and two others. Arashi, who considered himself a bit of a traditionalist, even if he, like Jiraiya, hardly followed the Shinobi Code in any way, had proceeded to use the 'bell test' with his own Genin team as Jiraiya had done with him. This time it was a team consisting of Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito and Inuzuka Rin. Of course in honor of his teammates and sensei, Kakashi could and would do no different failing dozens and dozens of Teams that were assigned to him by implementing said bell test on said training ground until one team finally passed. This team consisted of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki (Kazama) Naruto, a team so frightening like his own Genin team that he really had hated them when he first met them. However, as they grew, he saw the differences in the team he now lead and the one he had been assigned to when he was a Genin like them. Kakashi could honestly say that he could not be any prouder of them as he was at that moment.

The white haired man next to Kakashi had to admit seeing the three Genins lined up like they were was more than a bit nostalgic. Also in attendance were Gekko Hayate and a purple haired kunoichi in ANBU armor.

Said students looked as they had before the exam, Sakura wearing her red skirt and black shorts, Sasuke wearing his blue high collared T-shirt with the Uchiha Crest on the back, White bracers and khaki shorts and Naruto was wearing an orange sleeveless shirt, black baggy pants, and a wristband around his left wrist and bandages that went all the way up to his elbow on his right. His black headband was now re-secured on his forehead, concealing his Jagan, his father's katana the Shikon no Ruujin was hanging from his left hip.

"So Kakashi-senpai, are we going to tell them why they're here?" asked the woman.

Before Kakashi could answer, Naruto cut in. "He's a fake!" The adults looked at Naruto oddly, while Sasuke held a suspicious glare at Kakashi much like Naruto did and Sakura was a bit freaked out.

"And how (cough) did you come to that (cough) conclusion, Naruto?" asked Hayate.

"H-He... He's... On time..." Sakura answered shakily, "Kakashi-sensei is NEVER on time..." Her hand twitched next to her kunai pouch.

Kakashi sighed visibly. He knew he couldn't deny it, after Obito had died Kakashi had taken up the Uchiha's less than desirable attributes... Namely his chronic tardiness and knack for lame and unbelievable excuses.

"And he's not reading that hentai book he always carries around with him!" exclaimed Naruto.

The kunoichi's eye twitched at the thought of that book while the white haired man beamed with pride. "Ah so even ones so young as you all are familiar with my works?"

"Who are you?" Naruto asked rudely.

The white haired man smiled. "I am so glad you asked!" Then he bit down on his thumb and did three hand seals, before slamming his hand on the ground. In a puff of smoke, a giant toad appeared. Like Gai had done before, the old man struck a pose and proceeded to do a little jig as he introduced himself, "I am Myouboku Mountain's Monk of the Frog Spirits, also known as the Gama Sennin (Toad Hermit). I have no enemies in the any of the four directions. I am the one every man wants to be and every woman wants to be with! Author of the revered and world renown Icha-Icha Paradise, Jiraiya no Densetsu no Sannin!" He then dismissed the Toad he was standing on.

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura could actually believe the man was a Sannin, especially after that embarrassing display. Hayate and Kakashi sighed and shook their heads while the kunoichi wanted to strangle the old man at the very mention of the book that both he and Sharingan Kakashi were known for. Naruto's reaction was by far the funniest and most unexpected and immediately made the kunoichi let go of her fierce hatred of the Gama Sennin's book.

"You don't look all that great, in fact you look like a pervert," said Naruto. Jiraiya's eye twitched in annoyance.

"I beg to differ. I will say this once gaki, I am not a pervert!" Jiraiya told Naruto in a firm and dignified tone, "I... am... a... SUPER Pervert!"

"I can't believe you openly admitted it... Ero Sennin!" Naruto said an annoyed tone. Jiraiya got an annoyed look on his face while Kakashi, Hayate and the kunoichi had to try and hide their amusement at the interaction between Naruto and Jiraiya.

"Kakashi-sensei, there was a reason you called us here right?" asked Sasuke deactivating his Sharingan, noticing that the man actually was Kakashi.

"Err... Yes, in fact it's about your training," he said lazily, Naruto was oddly attentive at the mention of training. "As you know, the Chuunin Exams will pick up again in about a month, so I called in some favors. Sasuke, because of your Sharingan, your training will be personally overseen by me. Sakura, because your genjutsu is the most superb of the three of you, I've arranged some training for you with Team 8's sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai."

"What about Shino, Inu-Teme, and Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto.

"The Aburame's (cough) father took him (cough) on an extended training trip (cough)," Hayate informed his pupil, "Although the Inuzuka (cough) has been released from the (cough) hospital, he has (cough) been ordered to lay off any heavy (cough) training. The Hyuuga (cough) will more than likely (cough) be in the hospital for most (cough) of the month."

Naruto's eyes became slitted and he clenched his teeth at the mention of Hinata's condition as it reminded him of his own match for the Chuunin Selection Exams and the point he had to prove to his arrogant ass of an opponent.

"Also, Sakura, because you have the lowest chakra reserves and stamina, you will be put on a very intensive physical training program with a former teammate of mine from my ANBU squad, Uzuki Yugao," he informed her while motioning to the purple haired woman standing close to Hayate.

"So that means I'm with Hayate-sensei," said Naruto happily, eager to learn more sword techniques, as well as working on becoming more skilled, not just with his left hand, but over all.

"Yes, but you will also be training under Jiraiya as well," said Kakashi lazily.

"WHAT!? Why do I have to train under that pervert! He doesn't even look all that strong!" complained Naruto.

"Ah, but he was also the one who trained your father and helped him master his own Jagan," said Kakashi, "And has informed myself and Sarutobi-sama that he knows someone who should be able to heal your arm within the month, making it easier for you to defeat the Hyuuga Prodigy."

Naruto got a wide-eyed expression on his face. He gave a nervous chuckle and started scratching the back of his head. "Well... If you put it that way..."

"I don't see why I should help the Gaki, he has no respect what-so-ever!" stated Jiraiya, which infuriated Naruto. "And probablly even less talent."

Letting out a growl, "That's it Ero Sennin! I'm going to show you exactly how I deal with perverts!" Making a one handed seal, Naruto shouted, "Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)!"

There was a huge explosion of smoke. Once it cleared, revealed was a full figured teenage blonde haired girl in pig tails with very familiar whisker marks on her cheeks and clouds strategically placed in all of the right areas. Jiraiya got a slight nose bleed, while Hayate was looking everywhere but at the transformed Naruto and keeping his mind otherwise occupied, Kakashi let out a perverted giggle and had to constantly remind himself that the girl before him was not only his student, but in all actuality, male. Sasuke was also not looking at Naruto, but he had a slight blush at the sight of the image of a naked woman. Yugao, however, became incredibly angry, as did Sakura.

"Ero Sennin..." Naruto said demurely, "Please... Train me..." he begged, while letting out a small girlish giggle.

Jiraiya got a perverted grin on his face. "Sure, whatever you want..." With another explosion of smoke, the girl was gone, only to be replaced by Naruto.

"Nar... U... To!" said Sakura through clenched teeth.

Naruto turned around to see an enraged Sakura cracking her knuckles. "S-S-Sakura-chan..."

Next thing Naruto knew, everything went black...

* * *

A/N: _No true Naruto fanfic can go without Naruto using the Oiroke no Jutsu at least once. It's almost like a Naruto fic with out a Gai/Lee hugging scene, or Kakashi being on time/early... (wait... I did that one... Err... Anyways...) or Jiraiya not being perverted... It just doesn't happen..._

_Even though in the anime/magna Haku was the only one who could do one handed seals, I believe that if you master a jutsu well enough you could do it with either one handed seals or even without seals. Due to the extensive work to create Oiroke no Jutsu, I believe Naruto has reached one handed seal status at least. He still requires two hands to preform Kage Bunshin though._

* * *

"Wow!" said a familiar voice, "You can really take a beating. I haven't seen anyone dish out or take a beating like that ever since Tsunade-hime caught me pe... Conducting my research... On her."

"Even Yugao-chan (cough) began to take pity on you half way through your (cough) beating," said another, "That Haruno girl (cough) can really pack a punch..."

"Hayate-sensei... Ero Sennin... When will we begin training?" asked Naruto weakly.

"Tomorrow, (cough) after we leave the village (cough)," said Hayate, "So take (cough) the rest of the afternoon (cough) to gather supplies."

"We'll be leaving bright and early tomorrow too, so get a good nights rest and meet us out at South Gate at dawn," said Jiraiya.

"Thanks Hayate-sensei, sure thing Ero Sennin," Naruto said as he left the training ground.

Jiraiya was more than aggravated at Naruto's nickname for him, "Don't call me that Gaki!"

"Whatever..." said Naruto, "Ero Sennin..."

* * *

"Hey, Naruto," called out Ten-Ten, "Do you need any help training for your match against Neji?"

Naruto was pleased to see his friend and training partner, though he was confused on why she'd help him. He'd actually had come over because Ten-Ten's parents owned the shop and actually cut him good deals because he regularly trained with their daughter. Naruto's one true regret is that he hadn't befriended Ten-Ten much sooner because Gama-chan would have had a lot easier time staying full instead of going to some of the other more well known weapons shops that always over charged him for their mediocre at best weapons.

"I-Isn't he your teammate?" asked Naruto hesitantly.

"Unfortunately... Teammate or not, what he tried to do to Hinata was just wrong," said Ten-Ten with a small grimace.

"What about Lee? Doesn't he need help?" asked Naruto, "After I beat Neji, I'll have to face Lee."

"He's training with Gai-sensei as always," she told him, "Just watching the way they train makes me tired sometimes."

"I'm being taken out of the village to train for the next month," said Naruto.

"Can I come too? After all, you'll need some one to practice your kenjutsu with and I need to keep up with my training too," said Ten-Ten.

"I don't see why not, but we'll have to ask Hayate-sensei and Ero Sennin if they'll let you," said Naruto, "Though I doubt Ojii-san will mind."

"Ero Sennin?" asked Ten-Ten.

"Yeah, he's some sort of pervert that's supposed to be really strong, something about being one of the Densetsu no Sannin or something..."

"Densetsu no Sannin?" asked Ten-Ten excitedly. Naruto was now a little weary of the girl because she was starting to get that fan girl gleam in her eye, still he nodded hesitantly. "Then that means he knows Tsunade-sama and can tell me all about her!"

"Err... Yeah... Sure..." said Naruto speechlessly as Ten-Ten went on about how great Tsunade was and how the Weapons Mistress hoped to surpass her idol one day. Eventually he got his weapons and managed to make it to Ichiraku's before they closed, but not before telling Ten-Ten when and where to meet them.

**

* * *

**

The next morning found a half asleep Naruto approaching the South Gate where Hayate and Jiraiya were waiting for him. Ten-Ten materialized at his side practically bouncing with energy.

"Ah, I see you got your girlfriend to see you off," said Jiraiya grinning, "You might just do well as my apprentice yet." Meanwhile, he was thinking of ways to get inspiration for his next great novel, Icha Icha Paradise Vol. V. (Vol. IV was being published and hadn't been released yet, however Kakashi already had a reserved copy.)

Both Ten-Ten and Naruto blushed heavily at that, stealing a glance at each other before turning away from one another before both started spewing stuttered rebuttals to the Gama Sennin's remark.

'Too easy...' thought Jiraiya smugly.

Hayate rolled his eyes, though he was amused by Naruto and Ten-Ten's reactions. "So... What brings you (cough) here Ten-Ten?"

"I just wanted to know if I could come with you guys on your training trip," said Ten-Ten a bit nervously, "After all, Naruto needs someone to test his kenjutsu skills against."

"What (cough) about Neji and Lee?" asked Hayate.

"Lee is training with Gai-sensei and Neji... Well he can take care of himself," said Ten-Ten bitterly.

"Well, I don't see why not," answered Jiraiya, "In fact, it might be better this way so it doesn't look like Naruto is getting any sort of preferential treatment. Hayate can be your official trainer and I'll be Naruto's."

Naruto grumbled about not having the 'cool sensei' but gave in anyway.

As Ten-Ten had already packed in case Hayate and Jiraiya said yes, they could still leave right then.

**

* * *

**

Sasuke had met Kakashi at the Northern Gate as instructed about the same time as Jiraiya, Hayate, Naruto, and Ten-Ten had left. From there they traveled north east into the mountains. They had did some light stretching before climbing the face of the rock cliff, without chakra.

It was nearing mid morning before they reached the top of the cliff face. Sasuke was exhausted, but Kakashi was barely winded, despite releasing the Kaimon (First Gate).

"Alright Sasuke," said Kakashi in his typical lazy tone, "We are going to begin the most intensive training of your life. Your opponent is a Jinchuuriki who was never been injured before despite having been on a 'B'-Ranked Mission. From what we've been able to determine, he has unparalleled control over sand and it acts as a fast moving automatic defense. So the focus of our training will be to focus on your speed as well as raising your level of stamina and chakra pool for the technique I'm going to be teaching you. So... Show me what you got."

Kakashi took the Goken stance, Sasuke recognized it immediately as the boy dubbed "Fuzzy Eyebrows" had used that particular taijutsu style against him before the written exam. Sasuke slipped into the Uchiha Sekkendou stance. He cursed as Kakashi sped towards him connecting with several solid blows.

**

* * *

**

Sakura was cursing fate, Kami, Naruto and anything else under the sun for perhaps the one millionth time.

Uzuki Yugao was a harsh task master and Sakura thought it was a only by some sort of miracle that she was still standing. She had no doubts that she would sleep heavily tonight without even stopping to think about dinner.

She had been proud of her accomplishments to date. She had become stronger than Ino, despite being only marginally so, had defended her teammates when they were in danger and had been praised by both Saskue-kun and Naruto for all the effort she had put forth. Even Kakashi-sensei was proud of her. She knew she was nowhere near her teammates level yet, though she vowed she would be one day.

Today had disillusioned Sakura in many ways. Today she had realized just how far away she really was from their level of skill, power and stamina. Today was the first step in her path of improving herself as a kunoichi.

**

* * *

**

Naruto was becoming frustrated. He was finally starting to get the exercise down, but it still wasn't anywhere near mastery.

_FLASHBACK_

"_I assume you both know the 'tree walking' exercise at least?" asked Jiraiya, at both nods he continued. "Good then, we'll continue with chakra control exercises until we get to where we're headed. This one is called 'water walking'. A far more advanced exercise than the 'tree walking' exercise."_

"_Walking on water?" asked Ten-Ten, "Is that really possible?"_

"_Of course it is? With the right application of chakra, nearly anything is possible. Just remember though," he said in a more serious tone, "Many applications come with a heavy price. There are things that should not be done."_

_Ten-Ten looked confused. Naruto's gaze hardened and his Jagan started to glow underneath his headband. "Orochimaru." Ten-Ten was caught off guard by the tone in Naruto's voice and the slitted eyes that screamed fury. Jiraiya nodded solemnly._

"_Anyways... We're going to be following the river the rest of our trip. By the time we're done not only will you walk on water, but you'll also be sparring on it too."_

_END FLASHBACK_

Ten-Ten was standing on the surface of the river, she was actually able to move at a very slow pace. She had even gone as far as to run through some simple stances and katas with a katana.

Naruto, on the other hand, was having trouble standing. He could only stay on the surface for a matter of seconds before falling into the stream. At least he was managing to catch himself before he got past being waist deep in water. Channeling his chakra, he tried to force himself to the water's surface. Each time he would nearly do so, he'd lose concentration and fall further into the river.

**

* * *

**

Sasuke's Sharingan was spinning rapidly. At long last he was able to at least follow Kakashi with his eyes. Still, seeing wasn't everything as Kakashi would rapidly pummel Sasuke within moments. Still... It was a big improvement as Kakashi had been moving too fast for Sasuke to even see him.

Kakashi swung his foot at Sasuke's head. The genin blocked with great difficulty and then managed to dodge a follow up punch before getting kneed in the gut and backhanded away.

"You're reaction time is getting better Sasuke, but it still isn't enough," critiqued Kakashi, "At this rate, Gai's student, Lee, will mop the floor with you, do you really expect to last very long against a half crazed Jinchuuriki for more than a few moments? We might as well hope Naruto beats both Neji and Lee so he can beat Gaara before going onto the finals."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Kakashi knew how to push his buttons. He charged at Kakashi, his hands speeding through hand seals.

**

* * *

**

Sakura was idly wondering who she had wronged in a former life. While Kurenai may not have been anywhere near as physically demanding as Yugao was, her exercises and in both increasing Sakura's chakra pool as well as refining her control were still rapidly draining for the young kunoichi.

Currently Sakura was standing on the side of a tree while preforming a more advanced variant of the same simple chakra molding/control exercise Iruka-sensei had shown them in the academy, called chakra spinning. She had her arms spread our and was maintaining a certain distance between her hand and two leaves while rotating them in the palm of her hands. Since she already had exceptional chakra control, this exercise was merely to maintain chakra from multiple points from her body and to increase her chakra pool.

She had already mastered Tree Walking and Water Walking was just as easy for her to master, however, she didn't have the chakra reserves to maintain it for extended periods of time. Charka Spinning was also easy for her to get down with her high chakra control that might rival that of Tsunade no Densetsu no Sannin. They figured it would be pointless to move on to other exercises, so Yugao and Kurenai had Sakura use various combination of the chakra control exercises at once for long periods of time to increase her chakra reserves.

"You're doing much better Sakura, tomorrow we'll have you start on the water walking exercise again," said Kurenai.

Sakura let the leaves fall, "But sensei, I've already mastered water walking."

Yugao gave Sakura a sadistic smirk that made the genin kunoichi rethink being a ninja. "You won't simply be walking on water, you'll be sparing on it with the both of us," she informed Sakura. "AFTER our morning warm-up routine."

Sakura groaned.

"**What!? Are they crazy!?" **yelled Inner Sakura indignantly, **"At this rate we won't make it to the finals of the Chunin Exams!"**

Sakura couldn't help but agree.

**

* * *

**

Naruto had managed to get down the basics of water walking down by the end of the second day, and some how managed to pick up the rest rather quickly. He was jumping and running on the surface while Ten-Ten was still having some difficulties walking.

"How in the heck did he get it so fast..." complained Ten-Ten, "Just yesterday he was barely able to stand in the water, now he's running circles around me!"

Hayate smirked, "Let's see how well he can maintain his focus." He then jumped into the air and onto the water, surprising Naruto with a lightning fast attack.

"His father was much the same way, though it took Arashi a bit longer to master water walking. He just didn't have the stamina Naruto does, no one does, not even the other Jinchuuriki I've heard of," said Jiraiya.

"Jinchuuriki?" asked Ten-Ten, "What are those?"

Jiraiya mentally kicked himself. "It's a rare trait found in certain ninja. It sets them apart from others. If trained properly there are few that can stand up to them. They can reach high Jonin/ANBU level by the time they're your age and Kage Level before they even think about turning 18."

"So Naruto can take on a Jonin?" asked Ten-Ten.

"Not quite," explained Jiraiya, "He has near Kage Chakra Reserves, but he still has high Genin Level control. He wastes more Chakra while preforming jutsus than any normal ninja would hope to have until long after they made Chunin. His stamina is near mid to high Jonin level and from what Sarutobi-sensei tells me, his stealth skills even give the most experienced tracking Jonins trouble despite the fact he wears 'kill me' orange. But his overall skills are lacking, not to mention a Jonin and some high level Chunins have far more experience than Naruto by leaps and bounds. The only way Naruto would be able to win against them is if he were to outlast them, but he wastes a lot of energy in his movements and tons of Chakra in his jutsus making his high stamina and Chakra Reserves near useless. It would take a lot of hard work in kenjutsu, taijutsu, and Chakra control to get him up to a level to effectively use the advantages he has."

"What sets apart a Jinchuuriki from normal people?" asked Ten-Ten.

Jiraiya hesitated before answering, "Circumstances vary from person to person, but it's difficult to say what exactly makes a person a Jinchuuriki."

"You said there are others," said Ten-Ten inquisitively.

"Well, I've only heard of three others, only one of which have been confirmed and only two are actually ninja," answered Jiraiya, "The non-shinobi one is an old man who is said to be able to manipulate fire, water, lightning, earth and wind. Not much is known about him, other than he lives alone in the outskirts of some village far north of Konoha. One of the others is said to be apart of the Raikage's household in Kumogakure. The Kazekage's son, that red headed sand kid, Gaara, is also a Jinchuuriki."

Ten-Ten frowned, "Except for that old man, all the others seemed to be connected in some way to their Kages. Gaara is the son of the Kazekage, that other one at least lives with the Raikage and Naruto is the son of the Yondaime Hokage and is probablly the only person I have ever heard refer to Sandaime-sama as 'Ojii-san'."

"Trust me, being a Jinchuuriki is not a picnic. By default their lives are much harder than others because of what they are. It's the main reason Sarutobi-sensei treats Naruto the way he does and lets him get away with things. It is also the main reason why no one from your generation knows about Jinchuuriki or that Naruto is one."

There was a lot that Jiraiya was not saying, but judging by the way he seemed to be avoiding it, Ten-Ten decided against pressing further, after all she had plenty of time to figure all this stuff out. Right now, the main thing that mattered was hers and Naruto's training. Her thoughts were interrupted as Hayate and Naruto made it back to the shore.

"What was the big idea?" yelled Naruto.

"I was testing both your reaction time (cough) as well as your chakra control," answered Hayate smugly.

"You could have killed me!" shouted Naruto angrily.

"Only if you weren't fast enough," Hayate assured him.

Before Naruto could get full stream into one of his rants, Jiraiya spoke up. "Let's get moving again. With luck, we should reach our destination by mid day tomorrow."

"Where are we going Jiraiya-sama?" asked Ten-Ten.

"We're going to visit an old friend of mine, the Rei Sennin (Spirit Hermit)," said Jiraiya, "Only her and Tsunade-hime could help Naruto with his arm, and it would take too long to try and find Tsunade before the finals as she hasn't been around Konoha since before the Yondaime died."

"Why'd she leave," asked Ten-Ten eager to know more about her idol.

"Sorry, Ten-Ten, but I can't answer that one. Perhaps if you one day meet her, you can ask. But don't expect an answer, the memories are just too painful for her and that's all I can tell you."

"O-okay..." she answered contemplating what could have possibly happened to drive Tsunade away from Konohagakure no Sato.

**

* * *

**

Later that night, Naruto was training by himself. He unwrapped his injured right arm and was attempting to use his sword.

"Kuso!" he hissed. As he dropped the sword for the 100th time. He clenched his left hand tightly, nearly drawing blood. He grabbed onto the Shikon no Ruujin tightly with his right hand and began to go through the various kata Hayate had shown him.

He dropped to his knees and let go of the sword clutching his arm, gritting his teeth against the pain. He had done this every night since he was injured and he wasn't making any progress. It annoyed him to no end that the baka kitsune wasn't healing it like he always did. "Kuso... I have to beat Neji... I will become Hokage!" he hissed to himself, "I promised... I won't fail.." He then force himself to stand as he attempted to grip the double edged katana.

Ten-Ten watched sadly as Naruto worked himself into a frenzy. She had heard him leave the night before and decided to follow him. For two nights she watched Naruto work himself to death, trying to force his recovery through the pain. Each time she watched as his face showed to utter defeat when he couldn't use his arm better than he had been able to previously.

Naruto cursed again and Ten-Ten turned around to go back to the camp sight with one last look to Naruto. "Good night, Naruto," she whispered knowing he couldn't hear her.

**

* * *

**

The next day, the group came upon an isolated compound in the middle of the forest.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," said Ten-Ten, "So who lives here?"

"This place is mine, now tell me Jiraiya, what are you doing here, and with Arashi's son no less," said an old, feminine voice. When the group turned to look at the new comer, they saw an old woman with greyish pink hair, standing on the branch of a tree.

"Hello, Genkai," said Jiraiya, "I need you to take a look at the boy's arm. We hoped you could heal his arm and maybe give him a bit of training in Chakra Control."

"What do I look like, a damn healer," snapped Genkai, "Go find that drunkard teammate of yours and have her do it." She then jumped off the branch. "Besides, I already took an apprentice a long time ago."

"I'm not asking you to take him on or teach him any new techniques, he's got me and Hayate for that. It's just..." Jiraiya looked at Ten-Ten momentarily, "His condition has given him too much Chakra to control and I was hoping you could help with that. After all, you and Tsunade-hime are the best in your fields."

Genkai sighed, "Fine, I'll take a look at his arm, but no guarantees. Follow me."

**

* * *

**

Sometime later, the group of five made it to the small hut that Genkai lived at on her compound.

Naruto's arm had been unbound and he was laying in the center of the room, a bunch of runic seals drawn around him.

Making a few hand seals, Genkai placed her hand over Naruto's arm as it began to glow green.

"This is troubling," she commented as she scanned his arm.

"What's up Genkai-obaa-chan?" asked Naruto.

"Genkai-sama?" asked Ten-Ten worriedly.

"Don't give me that 'sama' crap," said an annoyed Genkai. "Whatever the dimwit did to his arm, he did it good. Not only was that Hyuuga right about his arm no longer have ay chakra pathways, but his soul has been damaged."

"So can you do anything about it?" asked Jiraiya.

"Partially, I can't heal it all the way," Genkai informed them. "It'll take someone of Tsunade's caliber to heal it the rest of the way. You'll be able to use that arm again without much pain, but be careful no to strain it. It will be much weaker than it was originally. You'll have to train hard to make your arm affective for actual combat again."

"Bring it on Genkai-obaa-chan!" said Naruto daringly.

"Just hold still this will hurt quite a bit..." with that, Genkai ran through a series of hand seals. "Ijutsu: Reikon Isshin no Jutsu (Healing Art: Soul Restoration Technique)!"

Genkai's hands started glowing and intense blue and then suddenly turned golden. Ripples of energy started flowing through Naruto's arm. The muscles in his arm tightened slightly and Naruto winced in pain, too stubborn to cry out.

Ten-Ten was amazed that Genkai then turned into a beautiful young woman with vivid pink hair that easily matched the Haruno girl on Naruto's team. If not for the absence of an abnormally large forehead, she'd have thought them related.

Suddenly with a small grunt of pain, a faded dragon tattoo appeared on Naruto's arm. It was translucent and looked incomplete. Finally Genkai cancelled the technique. After a few moments she reverted back to her old self and was panting heavily.

"Genkai-san... What happened?" asked Ten-Ten inquisitively.

"When a person's body uses an extreme amount of chakra, the cells of their body revert to a time when the body was at its strongest," answered Genkai, "The reason why this isn't seen very often is due to the fact that very few jutsus have the chakra requirements to do so."

"What about Kage Bunshin?" asked Naruto.

"While a Kage Bunshin does require a large amount of chakra, it doesn't apply because the chakra is being divided evenly between the clones," said Genkai, "Not even your father's Rasengan, (Spiraling Sphere) nor his student Kakashi's Raikiri (Lightning Edge) have such chakra requirements to affect the body so. Such techniques that do should be used sparingly because they place a certain amount of strain on the body and the spirit and can shorten one's life span significantly if over used or used incorrectly."

Naruto began testing out his arm. "What's with this tattoo thingy?" he asked observing the faded dragon tattoo that was now on his arm.

"It may have something to do with whatever it was you did to your arm," said Genkai. Naruto then related his story about meeting Orochimaru in the forest of death, omitting drawing on Kyuubi's power and Sasuke's Ten no Juin. "Then this tattoo should be the key in using your new technique. I wouldn't recommend trying to use it again until Tsunade has fully healed your arm."

"So what do you say? Will you help us train the boy for his match in the finals?" asked Jiraiya. Genkai reluctantly agreed after hearing from Ten-Ten and Naruto why Naruto wanted to beat Neji so badly.

**

* * *

**

Ten-Ten and Naruto stood before Jiraiya, Hayate and Genkai.

Naruto's bandages had been replaced on his arm, only this time there was an array of seals covering the bandages. Apparently, though incomplete, was still radiating power and itching for release. The bandages and the seals were being used as a sort of containment for the dragon that seemed to take residence in his arm.

"Now while your main focus for the exam is beating the Hyuuga boy, you're training is going to go beyond that," Genkai informed Naruto.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Despite the fact (cough) Neji is your first opponent, (cough) You still have other opponents to worry about (cough). Namely Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke, and Sabaku no Gaara (cough).

"So dimwit we're going to put you through the most intensive training you've ever been through," said Genkai. "First..." Genkai trailed off doing some hand seals. "Put out your arms..." she then pointed at Naruto and circled his wrists. A glowing golden ring appeared. She repeated the process around his feet. "Fuin Jutsu: Jureijo Shunosyo (Sealing Technique: Spirit Training Cuffs)!" With that, the golden rings around his feet and wrists shrunk down to size and snapped his legs and arms together. Caught off guard and balance Naruto fell to the ground. Hard.

"Hey Genkai-oban (Bitchy old hag)! What's the big idea!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"If you'd shut-up for once dimwit I'll tell you!" said Genkai, "These are the ultimate training device of my own creation. Feel lucky, only myself and my apprentice have ever utilized this technique. It seals all of your chakra inside of your body. In order to move, you will have to utilize 100 percent of your chakra at all times. This requires great concentration and excellent control. They are to be taken off only in emergencies. To cancel the technique requires a certain word, concentrate on releasing the cuffs and say Ante and you will be able to utilize all of your chakra once more. These cuffs will increase both your chakra pool and your control significantly the longer you wear them."

With that, Hayate took Ten-Ten to teach her some more kenjutsu stances and techniques, while Genkai went inside her hut to meditate. Jiraiya just simply went to the beach nearby to conduct research for his novel. It wasn't until late in the evening until Naruto finally made it back into the hut. It would take him several days to get used to Genkai's special training method.

**

* * *

**

The sound of a thousand chirping birds penetrated the air followed by a huge explosion.

Hatake Kakashi looked on as Sasuke came closer and closer to mastering the technique.

"Careful Sasuke. Though it is the incomplete version of my only original jutsu, the Chidori (One Thousand Birds) still uses up a massive amount of Chakra. Even I can only use it up to four times a day. The focus of our training is mostly to increase your reaction time to match your Sharingan, increase your speed and your chakra reserves. All three of these are completely necessary to even stand a chance against Sabaku no Gaara. Well... let's call it a day..."

"No..." whispered Sasuke defiantly, "I... I have to get stronger..."

Kakashi sighed, "Be that as it may, part of becoming strong is knowing your limits and how far you can push yourself. You're only capable of one Chidori per day. Those seals on the back of your neck will react in different ways. First is Orochimaru's Ten no Juin. While it gives you a significant power boost, we fear that it will cost you your sanity and possibly your free will. The more energy you use, the more of a need you'll feel to activate it. Next, is the Fuja Hoin (Evil Sealing Method). As I told you before, that seal will suppress Orochimaru's seal, but it is largely dependent on your will and it will weaken if you work yourself to the point of extreme exhaustion. While we will be able to continue some training, I don't think it would be wise to practice another Chidori. We will try and work you up to being able to do at least two by the end of the month, it'll be near impossible to think you'll be able to do anymore than that in such a short time."

* * *

"Kai!" shouted Sakura as she dispelled yet another genjutsu. She was rapidly gaining progress on identifying and dispelling genjutsu. She had also gained quite a few genjutsu into her repertoire including Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique), which would show the victim a horrifying image. It was a weak Genjutsu that was easily identified and dispelled. Another Genjutsu she added to her skill set was Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique).

She had nearly passed out from chakra exhaustion when she attempted Kurenai's Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death). She would only use that one if she trained a bit more. She did pass out from exhaustion attempting the Kanashibari no Jutsu. She could only marvel at Naruto's stamina knowing that, with her perfect chakra control, she used far less chakra than most people, including both Kurenai and Yugao, when preforming the jutsu. While Naruto's chakra control wasn't horrible it was far from perfect and he was bound to use up more chakra than she even had when using the technique. The only thing that kept her from being disappointed in not being able to use the technique yet was the fact that it was an ANBU Level technique.

Aside from learning genjutsu (mostly from Kurenai) Sakura also learned a few ninjutsu, including one that Kakashi had used on Sasuke during the bell test, Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique) from Yugao. She was also able to use Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu, but she had no where near the chakra reserves Sasuke did and could only use it once without any ill affects.

She did manage to come up with an attack all on her own that both Kurenai and Yugao were both immensely impressed with, though they said she should be careful about using it during the exams as it was exceedingly deadly. She was proud of her accomplishment and couldn't wait to use her Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu (Cherry Blossom Blizzard Technique) in a real situation.

Not only was her Genjutsu and Ninjutsu coming along, but so was her Taijutsu. Haku would regularly work with Sakura on improving that aspect of her training. Haku had not only helped her greatly improve her basic Taijutsu from the academy, but he had also shown her various stances and kata of the med-nin Taijutsu that Kabuto had shown him, as well as Shosen no Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique). He had also improved greatly on her accuracy with throwing weapons, namely senbon. Haku was greatly impressed with Sakura's progress as she was picking things up almost faster than he did.

"You're doing better Sakura, now it's time to increase your chakra pool again," said Kurenai.

Sakura groaned. They had stepped up that aspect of training as well. Sakura soon found herself hanging upside down from the branch of a tree while he was spinning senbon in her hand, instead of leaves.

**

* * *

**

Naruto was currently sweating heavily as he was balancing on a sharp point with only his finger with a small point of chakra channeled into it. He was barely staying up, as the he was expelling exceedingly excessive amounts of chakra, as Genkai, who was next to him, was barely releasing any at all.

"You're crazy Oban..." Naruto cursed.

"Shut it dimwit... Just for that we'll do this another four hours..." said Genkai in annoyance.

"Kuso..." he said under his breath.

"Five hours... Now quit complaining," demanded Genkai.

"They're crazy!" said Ten-Ten watching them.

"Genkai has always trained like this. It's how she became as powerful as she has. I'd say she nearly used to match me in power, Tsunade in chakra control and Orochimaru in skill. She's talented and smart, but she is far from being a genius or a prodigy, she's worked very hard for her skills.

"What do you mean used to?" asked Ten-Ten.

"A few years back, she gave her power to her apprentice," said Jiraiya. "Using a technique of her own creation she managed to turn nearly all of her power into an orb of solid energy which could be absorbed by another person. However the technique is very dangerous and requires an ungodly amount of control. It is also very dangerous for the recipient, as their body will reject the foreign chakra. While she retains her knowledge and skills, she no longer has her vast amount of power to draw on. Even without her power it would take someone far stronger than I to take her down by sheer brute force and she has enough techniques and experience to make tactics virtually useless against her."

"Wow..." was all Ten-Ten could say.

* * *

"Alright Gaki, now that your arm is healed up and you chakra control has greatly increased, I'm going to train you in the technique I had originally planned to teach you back in Konoha," said Jiraiya, "It's called Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)."

"How do I do it?" asked Naruto eagerly.

"Well, first thing first," said Jiraiya as bit his thumb and did three hand seals before slamming his hand on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" There was an explosion of smoke and a large orange toad in samurai armor appeared. "This is Gamadaisho (Toad Scribe). He carries the summoning scroll for toads and can be used for defensive purposes."

"What do you want Jiraiya?" he asked in an aggravated tone.

"The gaki is going to sign the summoning scroll," said Jiraiya.

Gamadaisho looked at Naruto appraisingly, "He doesn't look like much... Though he does look vaguely familiar..." Naruto bristled at the first comment and was about to pull of his headband to show the toad who was boss.

"Trust me, the Gaki is the real deal," said Jiraiya. "He's Arashi's son."

"The Kyuubi Kid? We can expect great things from you young Kazama..." said a now wide eyed toad, "Very well, you may sign the scroll, however, you'll still have to take to the boss before you can summon us freely." He opened his mouth wide and unrolled his tongue revealing a scroll.

Jiraiya unrolled the scroll and Naruto noticed both Jiraiya's and his Tou-san's names on the scroll. "Now you'll need to sign this contract in blood to make it binding and then you'll need to use some more blood to make a hand print on the scroll like me and your father did."

Naruto followed his instructions and Jiraiya gave Gamadaisho back the scroll before dismissing him. He then showed Naruto the hand seals and how to summon the toads.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted slamming his own hand on the ground. With a puff of smoke a small orange frog appeared.

"Hey, I'm Gamakichi!" said the cheery toad, "You got any snacks?"

"Err... No... Sorry.." said Naruto embarrassed.

"Oh well, next time just give me two and I'll let you summon me," Gamakichi said, "So are you really the son of the Yondaime?"

"Err... Yeah..." Naruto answered.

"Cool, my dad and yours fought the Kyuubi together!" said Gamakichi, "I can't wait until I'm boss and we can fight in epic battles like that!"

"That'll be great, we'll be totally kick ass!" said Naruto excitedly.

"No one will be able to stand against us!" shouted Gamakichi.

"Hey, do you like ramen?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, it's great!" the toad replied. "It's one of my favorite foods."

"Yatta (All right)! That is awesome!" shouted Naruto excitedly.

Jiraiya sweat dropped. He was impressed Naruto managed to actually summon a toad on his first try, as both Arashi and himself merely summoned tadpoles on their first tries, but what were the odds that Naruto's first summon would have a personality almost like his own, not to mention a weird obsession with ramen. Already Naruto and Gamakichi were forming a bond similar to the one Arashi and Gamabunta had.

'Gamadaisho was right,' thought Jiraiya, 'Naruto is going to be something great.'

**

* * *

**

Sasuke was now taking the offensive to Kakashi. The last few weeks training were really paying off and he could actually do the Chidori twice, though after the second time he was nearly useless.

He was getting better at reading Kakashi's movements, but he could tell the Jonin was still holding back. Though Kakashi no longer read his book while they sparred he had yet to reveal his own Sharingan while fighting Sasuke.

Kakashi brought his foot down to do a devastating axe kick to Sasuke, who back flipped and started doing hand seals. "Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

"Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)!" shouted Kakashi as he pulled down his mask. Mud shot from his mouth forming a wall between himself and Sasuke. Due to his Fireball technique, Sasuke couldn't copy the technique, nor did he get the chance to finally see Kakashi's face, a mystery that had all the members of Team 7 curious as to what he looked like.

'Ox, Rabbit, Monkey...' thought Sasuke, before shouting, "CHIDORI!" he charged forward breaking through Kakashi's Earth Wall. Kakashi promptly sidestepped Sasuke's attack, twisting his wrist and dispelling the attack before launching Sasuke in a random direction.

"Ah, Ah, Sasuke... You're still not fast enough, not to mention the Chidori was not meant to be used in that fashion, though I applaud you on your creativity." critiqued Kakashi.

* * *

"Sakura again!" shouted Yugao.

Running through the handseals, a heavily panting Sakura was standing at a riverbank. "Gokakyu no Jutsu!" she shouted blowing a ball of fire, that was nowhere near the size of Sasuke's, out of her mouth.

She promptly collapsed onto her knees.

"Four times, not bad," said Yugao. "Now, breaks over. Come at me with everything you've got."

Sakura shakily stood up. Adopting one of the stances Haku had shown her she charged at Yugao.

"You know, while that Taijutsu is good, it would be more affective if you used Shosen no Jutsu with it," Yugao commented.

"B-But Yugao-sensei..." Sakura protested.

"Listen, I'm an ANBU, not to mention I too trained under Kakashi-senpai before you even started training at the academy, there is no way you can hurt me, so come at me with everything you've got!" ordered Yugao.

"All right!" said Sakura as she activated the Shosen no Jutsu. He hands were now deadly blades of chakra that could cause damage on par with the Hyuuga Jyuuken, on this would cause damage to the person's body, not their chakra coils.

**

* * *

**

A shirtless Naruto stood before a bonfire, his hair spiked up, the seal on his stomach visible for all to see. A column of fire shot up into the sky. With his right hand, Naruto summoned up some black flames and jammed his hand into the fire. The black flames, mixed with the fire and spiraled up the entire height fo the column. Once it reached the top, orange and black dragons shot out in every direction.

The more he trained his arm and worked on mastering the manipulation of the Darkness Flame, the darker the tattoo on his arm got. It was still translucent but now was several shades darker. Already he had a new attack that he had been practicing, using one of Ten-Ten's swords due to the fact that he didn't want to mess up his father's blade trying to come up with a new technique. He knew there was no way that he could use it in the Tournament, but it was nice to have a new attack to fall back on during a real fight. Though Ten-Ten had told Naruto about Neji's ultimate defense was impenetrable, he doubted that Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palm Heavenly Spin) could stand up to it. Hayate, who had been the only other person to have seen Naruto's new technique, was inclined to agree, especially after what Anko said the original attack, which the new one was based off of, managed to do to Orochimaru.

Hayate and Ten-Ten were sparring as they always did when they saw the column of fire and the dragons dispersing. "He seems to be (cough) improving fairly quickly."

"Yeah, it's hard to believe that he's the same Naruto that failed the Genin Exam all those times," said Ten-Ten in awe.

"Never underestimate someone who (cough) works hard to achieve a certain (cough) purpose," said Hayate, "From what I've (cough) seen of him and what you have told us (cough) Hyuuga Neji will not make it past the second round (cough)."

"What do you mean Hayate-sensei?" asked Ten-Ten.

"After watching both of their (cough) fights, Neji respects both Naruto and your other teammate, (cough) Rock Lee's abilities, but he still (cough) sees them as being beneath him. (Cough) That, will be his downfall. Even if (cough) he manages to somehow beat Naruto, (cough) Lee will win for sure."

"But... Lee has never beaten Neji before," said Ten-Ten.

"In all those times (cough), did Lee ever take off his (cough) weights or use the Hachimon?" asked Hayate. Ten-Ten's eyes widened at the thought. "Just as I (cough) thought. Lee, like Naruto, (cough) is a lot strong than people give him (cough) credit for. Thus, people will (cough) underestimate him (cough) just as you did."

Ten-Ten went to bed that night with a lot to think about.

**

* * *

**

Naruto, Jiraiya, Hayate, Genkai and Ten-Ten were near a cliff edge that over looked a deep chasm. "Hey Ero-Sennin, what are we doing all the way out here?"

"How many times have I told you not to call me that Gaki?" asked Jiraiya in an exasperated tone.

"About as many times as I've told you and Oban to quit calling me Gaki or Dimwit!" shouted Naruto. Genkai's eye twitched slightly at being called a 'bitchy old hag'. He'd been calling her that ever since she put the Spirit Training Cuffs on him and hadn't quit since. In fact, she mused, he'd been doing it more and more as the more she helped Jiraiya and Hayate train the boy. He'd done it so often that Ten-Ten gave up after the third day of scolding the boy for his lack of respect.

"Listen to what the pervert has to say, dimwit," Genkai yelled at the three eyed boy. "He may be an Ero-Baka (Perverted Idiot), but he does know his stuff when it come to shinobi business." Jiraiya's eyes twitched this time. The only thing worse than being called Ero-Sennin by the Gaki was being called Ero-Baka by the Oban.

"Alright Naruto, we know you've been troubles mastering the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. You're consistency has been nearly non-existent, though you seem to summon Gamakichi more than the rest."

"What can I say?" asked Naruto sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "He favorite color is orange and he loves ramen."

Everyone sweat dropped.

"ANYWAYS... We've come up with a way to get past that problem," said Jiraiya with an evil smirk.

"Oh, how?" Naruto asked in genuine curiosity. As they say, curiosity killed the cat, or in this case fox.

"Just close your eyes," said Jiraiya. Naruto did so. "Forgive me Yondaime." Before anyone could react to the apology, Jiraiya shoved him off the cliff.

"ERO-TEME!!!" Naruto shouted as he was sent to his imminent death.

"NARUTO!" shouted Ten-Ten. Hayate and Genkai had the hold the girl back from using a katana to introduce the Gama Sennin to her own version of Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennin Goroshi (Hidden Leaf Secret Taijutsu Supreme Technique: 1,000 Years of Death). "You've killed him!"

"Only if he doesn't pull through with the technique," said Jiraiya. "I did the same thing to his old man."

"That doesn't make it right!" she yelled at him.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Naruto was plummeting to his death.

"I'm so going to kill him as soon as I get back up there!" shouted Naruto as he descended at an alarming rate. "Err... KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" he shouted as he bit his thumb and ran through the hand seals. Suddenly he came to a stop on top of the head of the large toad he'd ever seen.

"**JIRAIYA! Where are you! Why have you summoned me!?"** shouted the Toad, **"Who are you Gaki?"**

"I'm the one who summoned you," said Naruto glaring at the giant toad.

The giant toad just laughed. **"Yeah right, Gaki, now where is that no good Jiraiya?"**

"Now you listen here Gama-baka I summoned you and that's all there is to it, now get us out of this hole!" Naruto demanded.

The giant toad bristled at the boisterous boy's name for him, so he decided to have a bit of fun with the kid and jumped as high as he possibly could.

"Whoa..." Ten-Ten said in awe. Everyone else was amazed as well.

"So the dimwit actually did it, he summoned Gamabunta," said Genkai.

Gamabunta landed with a giant thud, the earth shaking all around. Only Ten-Ten and Naruto were unable to remain standing. Suddenly Gamabunta's voice boomed out, **"Jiraiya! You ungrateful lech, where are you? Why did you summon me this annoying Gaki on my head!?"**

"Listen Gama-baka, I don't know who you think you are, but I AM the one who summoned you you got that!" Naruto shouted, "The only thing he did was shove me off that cliff!" His eyes became slitted at this point, though Gamabunta couldn't see that.

"**Whatever, Gaki, just tell me where Jiraiya is at so I can punish him for me having to deal with an annoyance like you!"** he said.

"KUSO! I signed that damned contract, now you are going to listen to me got that! I summoned you and that's all there is to it!" Naruto was beyond angry, Gamabunta was taken back when the boy's forehead began to glow and the headband suddenly incinerated. He also noticed the thickening whisker marks on the boys cheeks as the boy growled in rage.

"**So, you're THAT kid, I haven't seen you since the day you were born, right before Arashi died," **said Gamabunta, **"Judging by looks of things, you are also his son. Very well, I'll allow you to summon me and the rest of my kin on one condition."**

Naruto visibly calmed himself, "Alright, name your terms!"

"**When you're old enough Gaki, you must share a drink of sake with me,"** said the booming voice of Gamabunta.

"No problem!" said Naruto, "I look forward to it!"

"**Now I must be on my way!" **With a huge puff of smoke Gamabunta went back to the summoning realm, unfortunately, Naruto was still on his head when he left and ended up falling to the ground.

"Stupid Gama-teme..." he mumbled before succumbing to the darkness.

The rest of the month went along those same lines with each of the members of Team 7 training as hard as they could, learning various techniques and refining their own skills.

Soon the day of the third exam arrived and Sakura found herself standing before the huge crowd, with the rest of the finalists, except for Naruto and Sasuke. No one had seen Sasuke since he and Kakashi left on their short, one month training trip, and, as she found out just the day before, only that girl that Sasuke beat had seen Naruto since he left with Jiraiya, Gekko Hayate, and the Weapons Mistress herself. Said girl, Sakura noticed, was sitting up in the stands with Kiba, Hinata, Chouji and Ino. So where in the world was Naruto?

The non-competing members were listening to the conversations around them.

"I don't see the Uzumaki kid anywhere, do you think he got cold feet?" said a Chuunin, "I guess he was all talk after all."

"You didn't really think he'd show up and actually win did you?" said another. "He may have improved, but there is no way he'd beat last years Rookie of the Year."

"Still it would have been entertaining to see them fight win or lose," said the first.

"Don't underestimate him, that's what I did, and look where I'm sitting," said Kiba, his boisterous attitude had been tempered quite a bit in the last month as he came to terms with everything that had happened in his match with Naruto. "He said he'll be here, he'll be here."

Everyone gave Kiba a look of surprise. Ten-Ten simply looked smug. "Besides, I think anyone who can stare down Gamabunta could easily take the Hyuuga Prodigy." That statement met the confusion of most of the younger generation and the astonishment of the Chuunin who had served with the Yondaime when he had charged into battle against the Kyuubi no Youko on top of Gamabunta.

"G-Gamabunta w-w-was the p-personal summon of J-Jiraiya-sama no Densetsu no Sannin and Yondaime-sama..." said Hinata quietly explaining to the others. The only others who would have known this fact were all competing, which were Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Neji, and Aburame Shino.

"Yeah, Jiraiya-sama let Naruto sign the Gama contract and he managed to summon Gamabunta a few days ago and he decided to let Naruto summon Toads whenever he needs to," said Ten-Ten with a small smile on her face, unaware of the betrayed look on Hinata's face and the slightly jealous one on Ino.

"How do you know that?" asked Ino, "No one has seen Naruto or Sasuke-kun in the last month!"

Before anyone could answer there was a huge explosion in the middle of the arena . As the smoke cleared all anyone would see was a massive ball of orange and black flames. Suddenly there was a teal flash and the flames were cleared to see a sight no one in the audience could have imagined they'd see...

Naruto was smirking while astride a large black and orange from with a single katana strapped to it's waist. His Jagan was blazing with raw untamed power. He was also wearing a black shirt and pants and his hitai-ite was attached to an orange cloth. His right hand was still bandaged, the Shikon no Ruujin strapped to his left hip and he wore a long robe reminiscent of the Yondaime himself, except his was black with orange flames. One the back of this robe was some kanji saying Konohagakure no Kuroiryuu (Black Dragon of the Hidden Leaf).

"Have I missed anything?" he asked smugly.

* * *

_A/N: Here it is as promised, Chapter 8. Sorry for the one day delay again, I meant to have this one out yesterday, but I ended up having to go to work._

_On another note, my in-laws are visiting this next week, so I'm not sure how much of Chapter 9 I'll be able to get done. After my wife's parents leave, mine should be visiting soon after to see their new grandbaby, so it may be sometime before I am able to update. Gomensai..._

_Anyways, the next chapter brings the long awaited fight between Neji and Naruto._

_So stay tuned for Chapter Nine: The Finals Begin: Jagan vs Byakugan!_

_For those of you wondering, Genkai will probablly make one or two more short appearances in the fic. Nothing major. I don't have any plans for making her more of a major character anytime soon. There will be, however, other great fighters who will take the stage for either quick battles or to help train our wayward Genins to become the Shinobi Heroes and Heroines of Legend._

_I loved how Naruto called Genkai a 'bitchy old hag'. I didn't feel comfortable with Naruto calling her 'old woman' or 'grandma' because that's Yusuke's thing and that's what Naruto calls Tsunade in any case._

_I had originally planned for just Naruto, Hayate and Jiraiya to got to Genkai's compound, but I figured with as mad as Ten-Ten was at Neji for what happened to Hinata, she wouldn't be so willing to help him train. The big difference in the attitudes of UKG!Ten-Ten and Canon!Ten-Ten is the fact that in canon, Ten-Ten had not be present for Neji's match against Hinata._

_I hope you all liked the short interaction between Naruto and Gamakichi. I figure it'd be a little funny if our favorite toad summon was a big fan of orange and ramen like our favorite blonde Jinchuuriki._

_I had also just planned for only Haku and Kurenai to train with Sakura, but then I figured Yugao would also help with Sakura since Hayate was already helping to train Naruto and she had great respect for Kakashi. I have to thank __**Shinobi's Fire**__ for the suggestion as I had totally forgotten about her._

_Now, Sakura is a lot stronger than she was in canon, but she is far from competing with Sasuke and Naruto in fighting prowess and the only medical jutsu she knows is right now it the Mystical Palm Technique. She'll learn more when she finally becomes Tsunade's apprentice and learns the Slug Sannin's freaky strength._

_Well, until next time! Ja Ne!_


	9. The Finals Begin: Jagan vs Byakugan!

**Chapter Nine: The Finals Begin: Jagan vs Byakugan!**

* * *

Haruno Sakura fidgeted nervously. Why? One, she was participating in the finals of the Chuunin Selection Exams. Two, various nobles from villages and towns scattered throughout the land both near and far from Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Takigakure, Kusagakure, Amegakure and Otogakure were in attendance, despite the fact the finalists only represented either Konoha and Suna. Three, both the Sandaime Hokage and the Yondaime Kazekage had taken a vested interest in the tournament. Finally, neither of those baka teammates of hers had yet to show up!

She had not seen either Sasuke-kun or Naruto since the two had left on their respective training trips with Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya the Gama Sennin. To make matters worse, Naruto HAD actually been in town the night before, as she had bumped into the Weapon's Mistress, who had not only been with Naruto the entire month, but was the teammate of BOTH Naruto's first and second opponents (provided he beat Hyuuga Neji). She still wasn't sure how she should feel about that.

On one hand, she couldn't wait to show her boys how much stronger she had gotten, nor could she wait to see how they improved, but the fact she had not seen nor heard from either of them disturbed her. As she didn't know where either of them had traveled to, and she had stayed in Konohagakure no Sato, it wasn't as if she could write to either of her male counterparts during the one month they had to train.

Naruto had even gone as far as to purposely NOT see her (something very uncharacteristic of Naruto, even if had gotten over his crush) the night before the Chuunin Selection Exams and even had the gall to be late. It's not the fact that she was ignoring the fact that Sasuke was late as well, it was just that after a month alone with Hatake Kakashi, one was bound to pick up one of their sensei's horrid habits. Sakura only hoped that chronic tardiness was about all he adopted from Kakashi. Plus, for what ever reason, Sakura did not like the fact that the Weapon's Mistress, Ten-Ten, had spent practically a whole month alone with her knuckle headed teammate.

Sakura didn't think it was fair that she did get to see either her precious Sasuke-kun or even Naruto the whole month as the two were a constant source of inspiration for her new found resolve. Wherever the two of them were, she hoped they were all right, because they wouldn't be when she got through with them.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata was both happy and worried. She had been released from the hospital a few days prior and had orders not to do anything that would put any strain on her body. She was also the only one to have seen her Naruto-kun recently, which was the source of both her happiness and worry. Happiness that she was able to help him and encourage him, and worry because he had mysteriously disappeared when Kiba approached and STILL hadn't arrived at the arena.

She was also sad and more than a bit jealous. Sad because of what was being said around her. Those Chuunins had said some mean things about Naruto and as much as she desperately wanted to defend the object of both her admiration and affections, she couldn't bring herself to speak out. Even after standing up to Neji, fighting with everything she had and more, she was still a weak little girl. Perhaps not as weak as before, but still weak, none-the-less. If she hadn't thought it improper, she might have given Kiba the biggest hug in his life when he came to Naruto's defense.

The 'Inu-Teme', as Naruto had taken to call him, had changed quite a bit after falling prey to Naruto's genjutsu and, secretly, Hinata thought it was a change for the better. He was still brash and loud, and very confident, but he no longer became over confident, was less cocky, and his attitude had been somewhat tempered. He had also learned, as she had known for many years, that there was much more to Naruto than he had led anyone to believe. She was sure there was much even she didn't know about him and she was sure she knew him better than anyone. Years of constant 'Naruto-watching' would give anyone much insight on the boy.

Of course this train of thought led her to why she had the feelings of jealousy. Neji's teammate had also seen Naruto in a different light than everyone else AND had just gotten back on a one month training trip with the three-eyed blonde genin. Once again, the feelings of insecurity and self loathing came back. Hinata didn't know much about the Weapon's Mistress other than the fact she was Neji-nii-san's teammate. She was skilled with various Weapon-based jutsu and was definitely one of the best kunoichi genins in Konoha despite having lost to Uchiha Sasuke. She also trained with Naruto regularly in kenjutsu.

Ten-Ten was also very pretty in a natural way, not having use for very many cosmetics like either Sakura or Ino, and very self confident. She carried herself with self assured grace that Hinata was sure she couldn't hope to even emulate, let alone compete against. First Sakura, now Ten-Ten... Hinata sighed, she was happy and sad all at the same time, conflicted in every way. Only Naruto could ever make her feel that way, and it frightened and exhilarated her all at once. Now if she could only find the confidence within herself to tell the blonde knucklehead himself.

**

* * *

**

Yamanaka Ino was at a crossroads. She had been greatly confused by her own actions during the preliminary round. She attributed this to the strange phenomenon that had occurred in the Forest of Death that was somehow caused by Naruto and the shock of seeing her former crush, Uchiha Sasuke, turn into some cold hearted killer bent on torture and misery. Seeing Naruto on the verge of taking that same path with Neji had sparked something within herself. She didn't even realize she had moved before she had her arms wrapped securely around him begging him not to gouge out the Hyuuga's eyes right then and there.

Perhaps it was because of how things had rapidly changed in the few months outside of the academy: Naruto awakening a kekkei genkai, the mystery and intrigue that sparked her attention making her notice the finer details surrounding her fellow blonde Genin, his fight with Kiba showing everyone, save perhaps Sakura, Hinata and Shikamaru that they had all grossly underestimated him. Ino was in a state of constantly changing her perceptions whenever she thought of the blonde shinobi. Not to mention, whatever he had done in the Forest of Death had also changed her in some way.

She had become much more aware of things around her, as if a part of her had been awakened. Ino had spent most of the last month trying to hone her new found abilities as they threatened to overwhelm her. Her father, the Hokage and the Tokubetsu Jounin, Ebisu were great help on helping her in doing so.

The feelings of raw, untamed power that she had felt in the last month were overwhelming. Focusing more, she could tell that a good portion was attributed to Sabaku no Gaara. That was not a comforting thought as Gaara nearly produced as much chakra as the Sandaime, something a mere Genin should not be able to do. That didn't even come close though to the murderously crazed presence she felt inside of him. It was stronger than Gaara, and yet held in check by the red haired boy. If she wasn't intimidated enough by Gaara, the second presence down right terrified her. She worried for Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Shino and Shika because she honestly didn't think any of the four of them could stand up to Gaara's overwhelming power alone.

She became agitated when the Chuunin started talking about Naruto as if he was just some loser just barely worthy of a glance, though she knew she had no right to talk because she had done much the same. She was grateful to Kiba when he spoke up for Naruto and was very impressed when the weapon girl, whatever her name was, told her about what Naruto had been up to the past month... Wait... No one had even seen Naruto, and she even said as much.

She was more than a little aggravated by the Weapon's Mistress' lack of an answer. Though distraction would come soon enough.

* * *

"Look alive everyone," said Shiranui Genma, the new proctor for the Chuunin Exam finals. "All these people are here to see you."

"B-But... We can't start just yet... Naruto and Sasuke-kun aren't here yet!" said Sakura.

"I'm sorry, but we've already delayed everything as much as we could, we have to continue on with the tournament," replied Genma.

Suddenly there was a big explosion. An orb of sand twisted around Gaara instinctively, as others covered their eyes as dust and debris was sent flying in all directions.

Standing in the middle of the arena just behind the contestants was a huge black and orange ball of flame. Suddenly, from the center of the bonfire, was a flash of teal light that grew with intensity. Another shockwave followed and the fire evaporated and as the smoke cleared, in the center of the once bonfire was a giant black and orange toad, just barely larger than Gamadaisho, who was dressed in plated armor and had a katana strapped to his waiste much like Gamabunta.

Sitting on top of the giant toad was another figure with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Have I missed anything?" he asked smugly, his third eye glowing brightly, sending many people in the arena into frenzied, hushed conversations.

Judging by the looks of astonishment, Naruto had gotten the affect he was looking for. He looked up at Ten-Ten and her expression was just as smug as his. It was just as they planned.

* * *

"Hayate-sensei and I trained with Jiraiya-sama and Naruto the whole month before the finals of the exam," she told them. "Naruto even has a new technique that he came up with, though only Hayate-sensei has seen. He wouldn't show to me either because I didn't let him see my Soushouryu before I used it against the Uchiha," she said with a slight pout.

* * *

"Naruto, where have you been!? You're late!" shouted Sakura, bashing him on the head.

"Sakura-chan..." he whined rubbing his head, "You're messing up my ultra-super cool entrance!"

Before Sakura could berate him further, Genma interrupted. "Now that you're here we can at least get this tournament started."

"Where's Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"We don't know, he and Kakashi-sensei haven't even gotten back to the village yet," answered Sakura worriedly.

"Don't worry Sakura, he'll be here," said Naruto reassuringly.

The Sandaime Hokage was then joined by the Yondaime Kazekage. After what seemed to be a brief conversation, the Sandaime turned to address the crowd, "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for attending Konohagakure no Sato's Chuunin Selection Exams today. We shall now begin with the main matches with the ten who passed the preliminaries. As we are using an 8 man bracket, two of our prospective Chuunins will be participating in an extra match. So please, everyone, enjoy the matches!"

As the Sandaime went back to his seat, the crowd started cheering. Genma turned to address the Genin. Before he could say anything, Sakura interrupted.

"What about Sasuke-kun?" she asked worriedly.

"If Uchiha Sasuke doesn't arrive by the time his match is set to begin, we will have no choice but to have him forfeit his match," said Genma.

Sakura's face took on a resigned expression. "He'll be here Sakura-cahn," said Naruto firmly, though he was just as worried as she was, 'Because if he isn't, I am going to kick his ass... Where are you Sasuke...'

"Alright, now listen up," said Genma interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "Although the landscape is much different than in the preliminaries, the rules are very much the same. There are no rules. Each match will only end when someone gives up or dies. However, should I decided the match is over, I will stop the match. Do NOT argue with me over my decision. Got it? Now we shall begin the first match, Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji. The rest of you go back up to the waiting area.

The other competitors turned to leave, though Sakura turned once more and gave Naruto one last worried look before joining the others. Naruto missed this as he was currently glaring at Neji and thanking his toad companion before dismissing him.

"You wish to say something?" asked Neji with a smug smirk on his face.

Naruto thrust his fist out. Hinata gasped having seen this many times before, the others recognized this as they had seen him do it after the preliminaries. "I already told you... For Hinata-chan... I WILL WIN!"

**

* * *

**

Hinata became wide-eyed and turned an interesting shade of red. Kiba smirked and bumped her with his elbow, she let out a small squeak and couldn't look anywhere except her feet. The others noticed this as well.

"Don't mind Kiba-baka, Hinata," said Ino, "It is awfully sweet though, I've never had anyone fight for me, makes me kind of jealous." That did nothing to sooth the Hyuuga Heiress's embarrassment. Especially since it was Naruto-kun who was fighting for her, the dark, timid weird girl. Then again, he DID say he liked people like her, that HE liked HER.

* * *

"You shall go no further Kazama," said Neji, "Your fate was decided the moment you decided to interfere in Hyuuga business. I'm going to teach you not to make silly promises you can not possibly keep."

"Underestimating me again, Neji-teme?" asked Naruto, "I NEVER go back on my word, because that's my nindo. I promised Hinata-chan I would kick your ass and kuso, I'm going to do it!"

"Big talk, but can you truly live up to those words?" asked Neji as he easily fell into the Jyuuken stance, his Byakugan activating, as was apparent by the veins bulging around his eyes.

Naruto moved into a wide stance, his left hand ready to draw his sword. His eyes became slitted and his gaze burned into Neji.

"The first match of the Third Round of the Chuunin Selection Exams, Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji... FIGHT!" shouted Genma jumping out of the way.

"As a Hyuuga I can read a person by the slightest details of their body. Just by their facial expressions and body language I can gauge what a person is thinking and feeling." Neji said, "I see it in your eyes, total and complete confidence. That will make this match even better, for I will enjoy seeing the look on your face as reality sets in. The look of absolute defeat in your eyes will only make my victory even sweeter."

"Shut up..." said Naruto through gritted teeth. Dust began to swirl around the two competitors and the wind began to pick up. Many in the audience had to cover their eyes.

* * *

"Th-that's... All Naruto..." said Ino in awe. "Was he always this strong?"

* * *

"Let's do this," said Naruto, who was still glaring at Neji as the winds died down and the dust began to settle.

* * *

"Pay close attention to this match Hanabi," said Hyuuga Hiashi to his youngest daughter, in their private box surrounded only by members of the Branch Family, "No one in the clan has inherited our kekkei genkai stronger than Neji. Your older sister, Hinata, does not even compare to him. He may even be stronger than you."

"Tou-sama?" she asked with wide eyes.

"However... His opponent is a weilder of the Jagan," said Hiashi, "While the boy may have been the dobe (dead last) of Hinata's class, the emergence of his kekkei genkai makes him a wildcard. Tell me Hanabi, from your lessons, what do you remember about the kekkei genkai that had manifested in the Yondaime Hokage."

"It was a dojutsu called the Jagan, one of three here in Konoha," said Hanabi, "With enough concentration the Jagan could not only see twice as far as the average Byakugan, but could also pick up sound and see through some surfaces. It can grant the wielder brief bursts of speed and power, though afterwards the weilder may experience bouts of extreme fatigue. The Jagan can slow down the movements of their opponent to allow for quicker reaction time. Because of the Jagan, the Yondaime was also able to utilize his most prized and feared technique, the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique), as well as the Mortal Flame. It also granted him some telepathic powers as well. B-but Tou-sama... Yondaime-sama was not a member of any clan. He was the only person to ever possess the Jagan Kekkei Genkai, how is it possible for Uzumaki-san to possess it as well?"

"Because Uzumaki Naruto is really Kazama Naruto, the Yondaime Hokage's son," said Hiashi to his daughter.

"Will he be able to defeat Neji-san?" asked Hanabi curiously.

"No, even with his kekkei genkai, Neji's skills are more refined and he has more experience than Kazama. However, he should not be taken lightly, if Neji underestimates Kazama for even a second, he could lose," said Hiashi watching the two boys intently.

"Is the Jagan really that strong?" asked Hanabi.

"Yes and no," Hiashi clarified, "It all comes down to the training and the resolve of the weilder. Though members of the council will tell you otherwise, there are strengths and weaknesses to all techniques and abilities, even those of the Hyuuga Clan. Like both the Jagan and the Sharingan, the Byakugan as many strengths and few weaknesses, and even though they are practically non-existent they are still there."

**

* * *

**

Down below, Neji's stance was flawless. Naruto was absolutely still. Neji then began to edge towards his opponent. "Even with your arm in the condition that it is in, you still wish to fight? Just because you have decided to fight with a handicap doesn't make you noble, or brave, but merely a fool and an idiot. Without chakra running through your right arm you won't be able to mold chakra properly and I doubt you have mastered enough jutsu with one handed seals to even be a threat to me."

There was a brief glow of Naruto's Jagan as he charged Neji. Neji was more than enough prepared for Naruto's charge as the glow of the Jagan gave away Naruto's actions. Naruto was faster than Neji expected. But as he was only utilizing one arm, Neji was able to easily deflect all the strikes made by the blonde. Seeing an opening, Neji went to hit a tenketsu point in Naruto's right shoulder, only to be blocked by Naruto's bandaged right arm. The sleeve of the robe Naruto was wearing had fallen down to his elbow. It was then that Neji noticed that the bandages were not medical bandages, but sealed bindings.

Up and down the length of the bandaged arm was a series of twenty four seals. There were two notable ones. The first was on Naruto's hand which was curled into a fist, the seal was in place to keep it closed. The other seal was on Naruto's forearm, which seemed to be a sort of master seal for the other twenty two seals.

Naruto pushed Neji's hand back and delivered a palm thrust to Neji's sternum pushing him back. Neji's eyes narrowed.

"I've spent the month with two seal masters, you didn't think I'd come unprepared did you?" asked Naruto smugly, "As you can see, these bandages aren't for healing, they're for containing and not even your Byakugan can see through them. The seals prevent a certain amount of chakra from seeping through the bandages and to allow none in. As long as the seals are intact, my arm is immune to your Jyuuken strikes."

"Why bother telling me that, all I'd have to do is remove the seals," replied Neji. This only made Naruto smirk.

"That would be telling," said Naruto, "Now, let's see how strong you truly are." Naruto vanished with a blur of motion, coming at Neji with a right hook, but the prodigy evaded the punch countering with a palm thrust , but Naruto twisted out of the way not letting his opponent even get the slightest contact with him.

Neji was now on the offensive, striking at Naruto from nearly every direction. Naruto blocked another hard Jyuuken strike with his right arm and jumped back away from Neji. The Hyuuga tried to follow, but was stopped short as Naruto drew three kunai and threw them at him.

Neji caught the first one, dodged the second and caught the third with the circle part of the kunai, before spinning around and throwing the kunai back at Naruto, who drew his Shikon no Ruujin and deflected the kunai. He didn't notice Neji throwing the second one that imbedded itself inside the blonde Genin's stomach. Neji smirked at the look of shock on Naruto's face.

"NARUTO! NARUTO-KUN!" shouted Sakura and Hinata respectively.

The other Genin who had participated in the preliminaries, as well as the ones who were still in the finals except Gaara and Shino, had expressions of shock on their faces. Naruto had been showing a level of skill that even Sasuke would have been hard pressed to match a month prior but it seemed the distance between Naruto and Neji's skills were still leagues away from one another.

Suddenly Naruto's shock turned into a smirk as he poofed out of existence. Now Neji was looking on in shock, as were many others. The kunai Neji had dodged was suddenly engulfed in smoke and standing behind Neji was a smug looking Naruto. "That's interesting..." said Naruto in thought, as if just realizing something.

"When?" asked Neji.

"The whole time actually," said Naruto, "One of the reasons why Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is a kinjutsu is because of the chakra requirements it takes to create and maintain one. Most Kage Bunshin are dispelled after one hit, but if you can put more chakra into it, it can take quite a few blows unless it is hit with a killing strike. I was quite nervous when Sakura-chan hit my Bunshin, if she'd have dispelled it, it would have ruined everything. Luckily, I was able to keep the Bunshin and Sakura-chan only made things more convincing."

Sakura blushed in both pride and guilt after hearing Naruto speak about his plan.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, the Chuunin next to the non participating Rookies and Ten-Ten were havening a short discussion of their own.

"Kage Bunshin huh? That's a Jounin Level technique," said one of them, "You know Kotetsu, most of the few Jounin who know that technique can't use it like that."

"I heard from some of the Jounin who watched the prelims that he was even able to use Kanashibari no Jutsu." said Kotetsu, "An ANBU Level technique. Though to be able to use Kage Bunshin like that is quite impressive, don't you think Izumo. Not to mention he was able to use it to gauge his opponent's ability."

"If he keeps showing that much insight for the rest of the match and some of the others, he'd be a prime candidate to become a Chuunin," commented Izumo.

"I told you this would be an entertaining fight," said Kotetsu totally focused on the match.

* * *

"Regardless, You can not perform Kage Bunshin anymore with your arm bandaged like that. You'll have to remove at least one of your seals if you plan to use that jutsu on me," said Neji.

Naruto's eyes betrayed no slip in confidence. "I'm not ready to release any of my seals yet, but I will show you just a little bit of what I CAN do." Naruto made a cross shape with his arms, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

To say many were shocked was an understatement.

He disappeared in a puff of smoke and when the smoke dissipated there stood four Narutos instead of one. As one, each of the Narutos charged Neji. "Let's see you keep up with us now!"

The first Naruto engaged Neji in a short bout of taijutsu in which he swiftly lost the advantage in, but before Neji could land an incapacitating blow to him, a second Naruto came in to save the first one, his sword slashing between the first two combatants. The second Naruto then jumped back as the third and fourth jumped into the fray with their blades drawn. Neji was swiftly and surely evading the deadly blades utilized by the Naruto dopplegangers while trying to figure out which was the true blonde. Just as before he could not tell which of the blondes were the original or not.

The Narutos were careful to attack in tandem and stay out of the range of Neji's Jyuuken strikes relying heavily on their kenjutsu. As one of the Narutos were jumping back, Neji did something unexpected. "Hakke Kusho (Eight Trigrams Empty Palm)!"

**

* * *

**

Ten-Ten, as well as many of the Hyuugas in attendance, looked on in shock at Neji's technique, one that none of them had ever seen or heard of before.

"Tou-sama, what technique was that?" asked Hanabi.

"Not one ever employed by any Hyuuga to date," answered Hiashi contemplatively, "It appears to be a technique of Neji's design, based off of the concept of the Hakkesho Kaiten, but that should be impossible as I am the only Hyuuga currently capable of using that technique."

**A** burst of chakra erupted from Neji's palm and struck the surprised Naruto in the chest, dispelling him. The shock felt by the remaining three Narutos caused just enough distraction for Neji to close in and dissipate another Bunshin with a well placed palm strike.

Another Naruto charged in to attack but was easily evaded. Neji ducked as the second Naruto moved in to assist his double. Neji was able to spin around him as the second Naruto tried to swing his blade behind him. Neji took to the air delivering a solid kick to the face of the first Naruto and a well placed chop to the neck of the one he flipped over. The first Naruto was sent sprawling onto the ground as his Bunshin had been dispelled. Neji slid back into the Jyuuken Stance facing Naruto.

"You're definitely a lot better than I gave you credit for by making me reveal my Hakke Kusho," said Neji, "But it doesn't matter. Talent is automatically discerned when you are born. Everything is predetermined at birth."

"Do you actually believe the crap coming out of your mouth?" asked Naruto as he stood up to face Neji. "Why do you automatically label things like that?"

"So do you mean that just anyone could become Hokage if they work hard?" asked Neji, "So very few are ever made a Kage,. Think realistically, those who became Hokage were born to that fate. It is not something you can just do because you want to, because it's already been determined by fate. People are no different. They can only live in the indisputable flow of life. But, there is one fate that everyone possesses. Death."

"So what, I'm not going to give up easily," said Naruto defiantly. He then lifted his right fist level with his face. He pulled off the seal that kept his hand closed. His hand opened on reflex and light purple chakra burst from the bindings as if his whole arm up to his elbow was seemingly engulfed in violet flames. It wasn't lost on Neji that Naruto gave a slight wince in pain.

'Removing the seals, while giving him access to more of his power, also causes him pain,' thought Neji as he watched Naruto's next move. 'Removing the lesser seals would only give him more access to his power and removing the master seal could possibly injure the both of us with the chakra backlash. Considering those are containment seals, that means whatever power he has in his arm, he can not control. It would be hazardous not only for us, but others in the stadium of such power was released all at once.'

"Are you ready to get serious Neji-teme?" asked Naruto, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Dozens upon dozens of Naruto Kage Bunshins appears all around Neji much to the astonishment of people in the audience. Neji prepared for an all out assault from the blonde genin. He was perplexed when only the front two rows of Bunshin drew their blades. The first row then charged at Neji, who artfully weaved and dodged through the Bunshin's defense.

"Kuso! We can't catch him off guard at all," said one of the Narutos before he was dispelled as well. Neji was standing in the middle of all the bunshin with a superior smirk on his face.

"Let's see how you like this one!" shouted a Naruto as dozens of Narutos took to the air drawing a few shuriken and throwing them at the Hyuuga Prodigy, "Shihouhappou Shuriken (Shuriken From All Directions)!"

It was then the inner circle of clones made their move and charged at Neji with their potentially fatal attack. "Give up Neji-teme!" They shouted in unison, each aiming for non-crippling, non-fatal points on Neji's body.

As the shuriken and swords were about to make contact a shield of chakra appeared around a still confident looking Neji. "Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin)!" He then started spinning knocking each of the Narutos back and reflecting their shurikens back at their throwers, dispelling all of the Bunshin.

"What the hell was that...?" asked Naruto as he stood up, he had been one of the Narutos to directly assault the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Did you honestly think it was going to be that easy, Kazama?" asked Neji with that same damnable smirk.

* * *

"That's..." Hinata said breaking through the shock of those around her, "Kaiten..."

The other Genin turned to her for answers. Normally, the timid girl would shy away from such attention, but her shock was just too great at the current moment to either shy away or answer their unasked question.

"Neji's ultimate defense," said Ten-Ten, "Even without my help he was able to master it. I had thought as much as soon as I saw his Hakke Kusho, which is a variant of the Kaiten. With the Byakugan, Neji can see nearly 360 degrees. He can detect an attack from any direction, and that's where the Hakkesho Kaiten comes in. He releases an enormous amount of Chakra through his tenketsu points at the exact moment he is attacked. He intercepts the enemies attacks with his chakra and then spins to counter his enemies attack. He applied this concept to the Hakke Kusho by expelling an excessive amount through the tenketsu points in his hand, extending his reach. Only a master of the Jyuuken fighting style can expel such an amount of chakra all at once through multiple points of the body, where as the typical Jounin can only force a small amount through the hands or feet. He can use the centrifugal force of the Kaiten to nullify an opponents attack, his defense is even greater than Gaara's."

* * *

"Tou-sama..." began Hanabi, "Isn't that..."

"Hakkesho Kaiten," Hiashi finished for her, "A secret technique only taught to successors of the Hyuuga Clan. In other words, only the Hyuuga Clan Main Family learn this technique, and he managed to do it without instruction. He is truly amazing, I'd have never have expected him to have so much talent."

* * *

"Naruto had better be careful, because that isn't all Neji can do either," said Ten-Ten cryptically, "There's a reason why he's considered to be the strongest Genin in all of Konoha."**

* * *

**

Naruto sheathed his katana. "So, you mastered it after all. I've wanted to try this out against your 'Ultimate Defense' since Ten-Ten told me about it." Naruto then made six one handed hand seals with his left hand, which promptly burst into orange and black flames. "Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" he shouted as he charged the Hyuuga prodigy.

Things seemed to slow down and Naruto came closer to Neji. Naruto thrust his fist forward to punch Neji, who promptly blocked with a palm strike saturated with chakra. Neji blocked his attack and then began to rapidly spin. He became a spinning orb of pure chakra, deflecting the attack from Naruto, sending the three eyed blonde Genin tumbling.

"Let's see how far it can go," said Naruto making the familiar hand seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Eight Narutos now replaced the one. "You know what to do," said one directly in front of Neji. They surrounded him at six different points. Two Naruto's stood directly infront of him and directly behind him. One of each of those ran a short distance away from their double.

"Whatever you are planning, it is fated to fail. It is inevitable that you will lose to me, why delay your defeat. The harder you try, the more you show your true colors," said Neji, "No doubt you have become much stronger than you had been at the academy, but you will soon realize that all your hard work will not be enough."

"Sorry, but I don't hold too much faith in fate," said a Naruto, "You may hold onto it like a crutch, blaming all of your problems as simple destiny, but I refuse to do the same. I will not give in, because if I do, they win. Everyone who has tried to hold me back, but I will become Hokage and do everything in my power to prove everyone wrong and protect this village with every ounce of strength I have, even if I have to beat some sense into you to do it!"

The two Narutos in front of and behind Neji then charged towards their counterparts, who had each cupped their hands. The two charging Narutos took to the air using the two Kage Bunshins' hands as springboards. The two bunshins were promptly dispelled. The remaining four Narutos on the ground then sprang into action.

One Naruto stuck the tip of his sword into the ground and charged at Neji, his Jagan blazing. Another went through on handed seals he charged. The third ran at Neji with his right hand gripped tightly on his sword, while the fourth drew two kunai before charging at the prodigy.

Above Neji, one of the Narutos went through left handed, one handed hand seals as the other got ready to draw his sword. Two of the Narutos shouted in unison "Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!"

The one dragging the sword tip through the ground shouted out, "Somatsu Kaku (Rough Divide)!"

The other one who was about to attack with his sword called out, "Jougen Yaiba Sen (Crescent Moon Blade Beam)!" The blade of the sword had a bright bluish glow as Naruto drew his sword.

The final Naruto on the ground, threw both kunai, and ran through some hand seals, taking a page out of Sasuke's book, "Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and two kunai became two dozen, as the final Naruto coming from above shouted, "Jougen Kiriorosu!"

Neji during this whole time did not move. As each of the attacks were about to come into contact with them he countered, "Hakkesho Kaiten!" Once again, all of the Narutos' attacks were blocked and deflected, sending all of the Narutos' attacks back at each other, knocking them all back, dispelling the five remaining clones. The real Naruto had been the one attempting to use the Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi from above and he was sent tumbling on the ground once again, only this time he was a lot more disoriented.

"You are within range of my Divination," said Neji, as Naruto was just beginning to stand, "Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou (Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms)!"

* * *

"Impossible!" said Hiashi in shock.

* * *

Neji charged at Naruto in a blur of motion that the latter Genin could barely follow with his Jagan. Neji hit Naruto simultaneously at two different points on his body. "Two Strikes!" His hands were a blur of motion as he struck Naruto again and again, "Four Strikes, Eight Strikes, Sixteen Strikes, Thirty Two Strikes, Sixty Four Strikes!"

Streams of chakra surged from Neji's finger tips through Naruto's body. Short needle-like beams of chakra could be seen piercing Naruto's body as he flew through the air and landed in a disgruntled, unmoving heap.

"Kuso..." Naruto hissed in pain. He looked up angrily at Neji, his sapphire blue eyes were no longer slitted.

"I've close all 64 tenketsu points, you can no longer stand," said Neji smugly as he deactivated his Byakugan. "Don't you find it mortifying that you are completely and utterly powerless against a power far greater than your own? It's time you were disillusioned that with hard work you can make your dreams come true."

* * *

"Naruto..." said Sakura sadly, she and Lee both had forlorn expressions on their faces as they watched Neji decimate Naruto's offense, which had been much greater than she would have ever have though possible.

Lee, on the other hand, was hoping to see Naruto beat Neji, proving that with hard work one could achieve their dreams and goals in time. Lee had been greatly anticipating a match with Naruto as he had started out fairly well, fighting Neji at a near equal level, he even felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him as Naruto not only made Neji use Hakkesho Kaiten, but the Hakke Kusho as well. Now, however, he was greatly discouraged as each of Naruto's potentially devastating attacks were pushed aside with ease and he fell victim to the infamous Hyuuga Clan technique, Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou. As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, he knew that there was no getting up from this technique, as it was one of the ultimate offensive moves in existence.

**

* * *

**

Hinata began coughing, the excitement becoming too much for her body. Both Kiba and Ten-Ten were doing their best to calm the poor girl who had been on a proverbial emotional roller coaster the entire match.

"Don't worry Hinata-san, Naruto will pull through," said Ten-Ten reassuringly. Ino however, was oddly silent as if waiting for something.

"Ino, are you all right?" asked Chouji, munching on his customary bag of chips, "Ino?" The blonde girl still didn't answer, her face in a thoughtful expression.

"It's not over," was all she said, her eyes never leaving Naruto and Neji's match.

**

* * *

**

Genma was only moments away from calling the match when Naruto slowly, but surely, began to stand.

Neji had flashbacks of his previous match with Hinata the prior month. Naruto still had the same defiant glint in his eyes. It would make his fall all the more devastating as he wasn't only fighting for himself, but for Neji's weak cousin who was nothing more than a softhearted annoyance.

Neji's normally schooled face that usually held either a smug grin or an emotionless mask was now carrying an expression of complete shock, as Naruto stood before him, smirking, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. "I told you before... I won't give up... I promised Hinata-chan... I WILL WIN!"

**

* * *

**

Hinata's body could only hold out for so long as she began coughing up blood.

"Hinata!" Kiba gasped.

"I can help her, I've had training as a med-nin," said an ANBU wearing a Cat mask.

"Who are you?" asked Kiba.

"Just a comrade," the ANBU answered, though Ino gave him a suspicious glance. She could sense deception coming off of him, but she also could sense that whoever he was, meant them no harm. She shrugged it off as him being an ANBU because they had to keep their identities a secret at all times when they donned the ANBU mask.

* * *

"Stop fighting," demanded Neji, "No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, the end result will still be the same. I will hold no grudge against you."

"Shut the hell up!" said Naruto furiously. "Even if you don't, I have one against you!" Neji merely glared at the blonde, "For someone with eyes that can supposedly see everything, you're blind. Why did you do that to Hinata? Why did you try to manipulate her like that when all she wanted to do was to do her best?"

"It has nothing to do with you, Kazama," said Neji coldly.

"You did nothing but put her down and labeled her as a dropout," said Naruto angrily, "I don't know what happened between the Main and Branch Families of your clan, but temes like you who treat others like that will ALWAYS have to deal with me!"

"If you must know, I'll tell you of the Hyuuga's Fate of Hatred." said Neji as he then proceeded to tell Naruto, and those amongst the audience who were listening, about the 'Caged Bird' Seal.

During the course of his explanation he removed his hitai-ite, revealing an olive green design on his forehead.

Naruto's eyes widened as the seal on Neji's forehead was revealed to him. Neji was much like him, he realized, having been branded at an early age with a destiny he did not want.

Neji the went on telling Naruto about the day Neji had received the seal, when Kumo had vied for peace, only to double cross Konoha in an attempt to steal the Byakugan by kidnaping the Hyuuga Heiress, Hinata, as well as the inner workings of the seal itself. Next, came the death of his father and his reason for despising the Main Family of the Hyuuga Clan. Neji's Byakugan automatically activated towards the end of his story due to the emotions running through him. The anger, the sadness, and years of resentment all building towards a pinnacle of frustration and grief.

"And in this match, your fate was decided when I became your opponent," said Neji "Fate says you will lose, and THAT I can guarantee."

"Bullshit," was Naruto's response, "I don't know how tough you had it when your dad was killed, but you're full of shit saying fate is predetermined because of what happened back then."

"Hopeless," said Neji as re put his hitai-ite back on his head. Naruto's Jagan began to glow as Neji charged at Naruto. Neji attempted a palm thrust, only to have Naruto maneuver around his strike, pushing aside Neji's palm with his bandaged hand before delivering a weak uppercut to Neji. He tried to follow up with a right hook that was easily blocked by Neji, who then countered with a palm strike to Naruto's chin and another to Naruto's sternum. Naruto was knocked off his feet, once more. "It's over. Dobe."

"R-Running away, scaredy cat?" Naruto taunted as he stood up once more, hand on his injured midsection. "I'm not running, nor will I go back on my word. That's my nindo..."

For a brief moment, Neji saw an image of Hinata behind Naruto as he remembered her words to him as he mercilessly beat her down again and again. "I do believe I've heard that somewhere."

"I'm not going to lose to a guy like you who blames everything on fate because it's all a load of crap!" shouted Naruto, as he seemed to be catching a second wind.

"You know absolutely nothing," said Neji scathingly, "You have no right to lecture me. People are born with an unchangeable fate. You have no idea what it's like to carry a seal that can not be removed. A guy like you could not possible understand!"

"**SHUT THE HELL UP**!" shouted Naruto, with a burst of power that sent dust flying in all directions forcing the crowd to once again cover their eyes. Many of the audience were now on edge, having felt that familiar presence once before. Even Gaara looked alarmed at the sheer power Naruto was consciously generating from his body as he knew he could not do the same. Temari was alerted to this when she heard the sharp intake of breath from her youngest brother and she looked back at the blonde genin in shock, no one EVER got that reaction out of Gaara. She knew then that the bijuu within Uzumaki was a very powerful one indeed.

Neji, with his activated Byakugan, looked on in horror as Naruto's tenketsu points began to forcefully open themselves up as his eyes became slitted once more, only this time they were blood red, just like the color of Naruto's chakra. Neji noticed a fox-like face made of chakra originating from a seal on Naruto's stomach. Naruto's hair became wilder, and the whisker-like birthmarks on his face became wider. Overall giving Naruto a more feral look to him.

"Do you honestly think you're the only person here who has suffered?" Ripping his shirt he revealed the familiar seal that Neji had seen in the Forest of Death, without the kanji for each of the five elements on it. "I've been ridiculed, beaten, and practically treated as worthless vermin since before I can remember because of the damn seal my own father placed on me when I was not even more than a few hours old. All because people can not see past their own hatred and prejudice to see what I am not. Try being alone your entire life because of something you could not control. If I had given into fate as easily as you had, I would either be dead or slaughtering every last one of the villagers for what they've done to me over the years!"

Many in the audience had the decency to look moderately guilty or alarmed about their past actions and possible consequences.

**A **small frown passed over Gaara's normally emotionless face, though only Temari noticed it. She hoped when it was all over that Gaara took some of the blonde Jinchuuriki's words to heart, so that maybe she could have her baby brother back. The boy, who had intrigued her at first, though later she would pass him off as some worthless idiot, had gained a certain degree of respect from the Suna kunoichi for having gone through hell on earth and still remained remotely sane. It still tore at her heart when she remembered Gaara's childhood, what little of it there was, with all of the villagers open dislike of her brother. All the fear and resentment. The way they shunned and abandoned him. Not to mention the assassination attempts. Each alone weighed heavily on the psyche of a small child, all together was too much for anyone person to have to carry. Not for the first time did she curse her father and what he had forced Chiyo-baa-sama to do to Gaara and her mother.

* * *

"Do you really think you're so special? What about Hinata-chan?" Naruto demanded angrily She's the Heiress of the Main Family, with all of the expectations that come with it. She's tried so hard to change herself because, like me, no one would acknowledge her. She kept getting up each time you knocked her down, she kept coming back when others would have simply given up, she fought on despite her injuries. So you shut the hell up when you tell me I don't understand, because I do, even better than you do!"

"And then there's you. The Branch Family is supposed to protect the Main Family, yet you did what you did to Hinata in what was supposed to only be an exam! If you weren't fighting against fate then, I don't know what you were trying to do," said Naruto, "Hypocrite."

Neji was seething at the blondes words, mostly due to the fact he could not dispute them. "It doesn't matter anyway. Your fate is already sealed, it will be the same as the one that befell Hinata-sama.

"Shut the hell up, it's about time I finished this by kicking your ass!" shouted Naruto, "I'll prove to you that with enough hard work you can do anything, that names and bloodlines aren't everything." Naruto's Jagan began to glow with great intensity and Neji tensed, anticipating the attack.

Everything began to slow down as Naruto vanished. Rock Lee's mouth dropped in shock and even Maito Gai was impressed by the speed as he could barely follow it. Neji suddenly doubled over in pain, blood spitting out of his mouth, just a short moment before Naruto reappeared, his elbow driven deep into Neji's midsection. Neji stumbled back, holding his now fractured ribs as Naruto disappeared again. Neji was suddenly launched into the air as Naruto reappeared just seconds after, showing that he had kicked Neji in the face.

Naruto then went through a series of fifteen hand seals rapidly and drew his sword upon completion, "Ten no Kenbu: Juu Tsurugi Dageki (Sword Dance of the Heavens: 10 Sword Strike)!"

Naruto flung the Shikon no Ruujin in the air at Neji. The sword then flashed and split into ten, nine surrounding Neji made completely of purple chakra and one, the original hovering just above him, having just barely missed the Hyuuga prodigy. The nine surrounding him were rotating all around him in different directions.

Power swirled around Naruto and he vanished again delivering a powerful knee strike to Neji's already injured ribs, before reaching out for the first sword. Naruto did a flip and as soon as he touched down to the ground he jump at Neji slashing him through his torso horizontally with the chakra blade, which promptly dissipated.

Naruto then grabbed the second one and slashed Neji again on his decent from his left shoulder to his right hip. Again the sword dissipated and Naruto managed to grab the third on his way down to the ground.

Naruto shot back up to the ground and grabbed the fourth blade, spinning as he did so to strike a descending Neji with both chakra blades sending him up again. The third sword sliced through Neji's torso again, while the fourth sliced through his neck making Neji flip in the air.

Naruto grabbed the fifth one from above him and slashed Neji from the front from his right shoulder to his left hip, snatching up the sixth and seventh sword as he descended. Again, Naruto barely touched down to the ground as he vanished again this time driving the sixth sword through Neji's stomach with his left hand and bringing the seventh one up striking Neji in the chest.

Naruto used the momentum to spin and he reached for the eighth sword with his right hand. Continuing his spin he struck Neji an eighth time and reach out with his left hand and grabbed the ninth sword, spinning towards the ground.

He landed and went into a low crouch, and shot off again with a small shockwave. He reappeared slashing Neji with the ninth chakra sword continuing his ascent above Neji where the Shikon no Ruujin still hovered.

Naruto grabbed it by the hilt and spun around ready for the killing strike. Instead of completing the technique properly, slicing his opponent in half, Naruto descended with a double axe handle, slamming the hilt of the sword into Neji's shoulder and then sheathed his sword, landing in a low crouch. Neji hit the ground, hard, his uninjured shoulder breaking his fall. Neji lie motionless except for the movement of his chest.

Genma took a quick glance at Naruto who nodded. "I declare the winner of this match... Kazama Naruto!"

Naruto slowly stood up straight, panting heavily. His eyes went back to their normal blue appearance and his whicker marks returned to their normal width. His hair returned to it's normal spiky appearance making Naruto look less feral than when he started the jutsu. "You know... I failed the academy final exam three times... I failed because I could not do the one technique that ALWAYS appeared on the ninjutsu exam. Bunshin no Jutsu was the one technique I could not do and I still can't. Yet, as you noticed, I can easily create hundreds of Kage Bunshin with little effort. So, shut the hell up about fate being unchangeable. If it is so impossible to fight it, why try to fight it? Why try to do anything? Unlike me, YOU aren't a dropout. Whatever fate you wish is yours for the taking. I don't know much about the Hyuuga's Fate of Hatred, but when I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuuga way. For your sake and Hinata-chan's, that's a promise. A promise of a lifetime."

One by one, people in the audience began to cheer. Naruto looked around the audience, watching everyone cheer for him. All at once he began feeling all of the hope that he never knew he lost being rejuvenated. Tired as he was, he couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he made his way to the observation platform.

Genma approached Neji's still and barely conscious form being loaded onto a stretcher. "You know, even a caged bird overtime will try to open its cage with its beak." Genma paused to look at Naruto for a quick moment before glancing at Neji again, "They never give up because eventually they want to fly again."

* * *

As Naruto made it up to the observation deck, he was greeting by both Sakura and Rock Lee.

"Naruto, that was incredible!" Sakura shouted.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, that was a most spectacular and youthful victory!" said Lee, "I look forward to our match!"

"Th-Thanks guys... But I think... I think... I'm going to take a quick nappy poo..." said Naruto whose Jagan was half closed and had bags under his eyes. "Sakura-chan... Bushy Brows... Wake me up... When I... Have to... Fi..." He didn't get the last word out as he fell flat on his face, completely unconscious.

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura as she watched Naruto collapse. She preformed, or at least tried to, a simple diagnostic jutsu Haku had attempted to show her once. However, her concern for Naruto's well being won out and she couldn't concentrate enough to do the jutsu.

"Relax, forehead girl, Naruto's fine, he just needs a bit of rest," said Ino who was accompanied by Chouji.

"What are you doing here Ino-pig?" demanded Sakura.

"We came to congratulate Naruto and support Shika-kun for his match," said Ino.

"I thought you guys were going to be sitting with Hinata and Kiba," said Shikamaru.

"We were, but then Hinata started coughing up blood," answer Chouji, "Some ANBU guy came by and healed her though so she's okay. Kiba and that Ten-Ten girl are both with her now."

"Now for the second match of the Chuunin Selection Exam Third Round, Sabaku no Temari vs Nara Shikamaru!" shouted Genma. As she had before in the preliminaries, she floated down on her fan.

"You better win Shikamaru!" shouted Ino at her lazy teammate.

"I planned on it," said Shikamaru with a slight edge in his voice shocking everyone who knew him. He then casually walked down the stairs with his hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his face. Though Chouji wasn't severely hurt, he had spent a week and a half in the hospital after his fight with the blonde Suna-nin in the preliminaries. Shikamaru actually trained the entire month and had every intention in defeating his opponent.

"Sabaku no Temari vs Nara Shikamaru, Fight!" shouted Genma.

**

* * *

**

Naruto woke up with a small groan. "Is it time for my match yet?" he asked streching.

"No, not yet Naruto," said Chouji. "Shika just got done fighting that kunoichi from Suna. There's a fifteen minute break before your next match."

"Oh, so... How long have I been out?" he asked.

"About four and a half hours," said Ino looking at her watch.

"Thanks..." said Naruto before he fully realized what she said, "What!?" He stood straight up and ran to the balcony, and sure enough Shikamaru was making his way up to the observation deck.. "What the heck were they doing down there? The whole tournament should be over by now..." he said with a frown.

"Not much actually," commented Sakura, "She attacked him with a bunch of wind attacks through out the whole match and all he did was hide or try to catch her with her shadow once or twice before he finally caught her."

"He used a technique that not even me or Chouji ever saw him use too," said Ino, "I'm actually surprised Shika hadn't given up."

"I'm not," said Naruto surprising everyone, "He wasn't happy with how she beat Chouji, so he was going to do everything he could to beat her."

"That means he must of actually been training all those times I accused him of being a lazy bum during the entire month," said Ino.

Both Naruto and Chouji gave her a strange look, "All right, it IS Shikamaru we're talking about so he wasn't training THAT much, but still it is amazing he actually went out an trained without me breathing down his neck to do it."

"So where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"He and Kakashi-sensei still haven't shown up," said Sakura in an exasperated tone.

"Hey guys," said the lazy voice of Shikamaru.

"Good job Shikamaru, too bad I missed your entire match though, I just woke up," Naruto said sheepishly, his hand scratching the back of his head.

"You JUST now woke up?" asked Shikamaru, "That must have been some jutsu you used to be out for that long."

"I'm surprised I actually did it," said Naruto, his cheeks taking on a slight blush, "Not even Hayate-sensei has mastered that jutsu. He has to use a modified version that does only five strikes and up until now I've only managed two. Ten-Ten still has yet to fully form a sword made of chakra yet. So I doubt I could do it again anytime soon." Still, the others were very impressed. "Hayate-sensei said the only person he'd ever seen master the jutsu was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, some guy named Arasoi Kumo."

"For the first match up of the quarter finals of the Final Round of the Chuunin Selection Exam... Kazama Naruto vs Rock Lee!" shouted Genma. Already people were cheering as Naruto had beaten Neji a few hours prior and Rock Lee was Neji's teammate. The next match promised to be a very exciting on to say the least.

"Yosh! I can not wait to face my new eternal rival!" shouted Rock Lee excitedly, "We will no see who is the true genius of hard work!"

Every one sweat dropped at Lee's excitement. Naruto did the one thing he could think of, "Uh, Lee... You say something?" Lee's mouth literally hit the ground as he then ranted on about Naruto's hip ways that he had inherited from his sensei. This of course caused everyone to sweat drop a second time.

* * *

A few minutes later both Kazama Naruto and Rock Lee found themselves standing in the middle of the arena. All three of Naruto's eyes were staring straight into Rock Lee's. "Hey, Lee, I have to admit, I didn't go all out against Neji."

This sent everyone into hushed whispers, including the other contestants.

"In fact, I think you might want to take off your weights," he said to Lee as he took off his black and robe. "I want as good a match as possible."

Lee smiled. "Very well, Naruto-kun, but just because you beat Neji does not mean I will go easy on you. For the last year it has been my goal has been to defeat Hyuuga Neji in hopes that I can prove my nindo that even one such as myself who can not use either ninjutsu or genjutsu can become a great shinobi. But now you, another genius of hard work, has defeated my rival. Now you, Naruto-kun, are my new target."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Naruto smirking. "Come at me with everything you got!"

Lee looked up to where his sensei stood. Gai nodded giving Lee the okay to follow through with Naruto's request. He then pulled down his orange leg warmers that revealed weights that now said 'Hard Work'. He unlatched them and took them off of his legs, much like he did in the preliminaries. When he dropped them, the craters he made this time were even bigger. Lee then vanished and only a green blur could be seen running around the arena, Lee suddenly rematerialized in front of Naruto, his fist just an inch from the blonde's face. Naruto, to his credit, did not move. Lee then flipped backwards and got into his Goken stance.

Naruto smirked and took off his robe throwing it to the side. He stood straight up, his legs together, his wrists touching out in front of him. Both his wrists and his ankles began to glow as he spread them apart. His arms and legs seemed to be bound together. "Ante!" he shouted at the bonds of energy shattered and he release a massive amount of chakra. Two colors of chakra poured out of him. A blue chakra that took the form of a dragon that flew around the stadium and a red chakra that took the form of a certain kitsune. The two then merged together and became a massive toad made completely of purple chakra matching the size of, if not just slightly larger than the legendary Gamabunta. The energy stayed for a few seconds more before receding back into Naruto.

"Ready fuzzy brows?" asked Naruto confidently.

_

* * *

_

_I hope you all liked the latest installment of Ultimate Kekkei Genkai: The Jagan._

_To address a few concerns..._

_**G:**__ The first chapter was an introduction to branch things off from that specific point to integrate the Jagan into the story. I'll correct the confusion with his arms. Yes, Konoha's 'Blue' Beast, I don't get it either because he wears green. Maito Gai is the 'Green' Beast of Konoha and in the English dub, Rock Lee refers to himself as the Azure Beast, again another form of blue. No, Aoba is NOT the nuke-nin who defected to Amegakure, that guy's name was Aoi. About the Sharingan and everything else I did not address, it's my fic, deal with it._

_**wouldnt you like to know: **__I did not rip off anyone's fic for any techniques. If I do use someone else's techniques consciously I will give them credit in the author's notes. The Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu actually came from Naruto the Movie. Believe It!_

_**Kurama: **__Thanks. I've also spent a lot of time thinking up jutsu, but if I need something more than what I've already got, I'll let you know. You will need to e-mail me so I actually have your e-mail address so I can actually ask, should I have the need to._

_**Seiryuu Ryuujin:**__ The black dragon tattoo on Naruto's arm is the same on Hiei had on Yu Yu Hakusho. Yes it does function as a sort of summoning tattoo, but not in the traditional sense like Orochimaru's does._

_**BloodyShadowWolf: **__Kiroi means yellow, Kuroi means black._

_**To everyone else:**__ The Sword Dance of the Heavens: Ten Sword Strike is a variation off of Cloud's Omni Slash 5 in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. In fact, Arasoi Kumo literally translates into Strife Cloud, or Cloud Strife. I don't know if everyone's favorite SOLDIER will be in the fic. As of now, I don't have any plans for it to happen. I know I said Hayate knows it. So why, other than the fact I made up the jutsu, did he not use it on Baki in canon? Because the technique relies on having superior speed, not to the extreme degree that Naruto had on Neji those brief moments he super charged himself but a significant amount. Since Hayate did not know of Baki's capabilities, using the Sword Dance of the Heavens would have been a very bad idea, not that the Dance of the Crescent Moon did him much better...Ten-Ten doesn't quite meet the chakra requirements and Naruto is nowhere near the skill level to use the technique without Kyuubi's chakra and the Jagan's influence._

_Rough Divide I borrowed from Final Fantasy 8, it was a Limit Break of Squall's. Crescent Moon Blade Beam is a variation of Cloud's Limit Break, Blade Beam. The only true difference is Cloud swung his sword vertically to the ground and on contact the beam shot at the enemy and branched off to other enemies he was fighting. Naruto's is used while he is drawing his weapon and can only attack one enemy._

_For those who dislike Sakura and Sasuke, there will be no bashing in this fic. Also, do remember that the Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi in this fic are different from their canon counterparts._

_Kakashi is actually training the three of them more, though it may not be shown, and arranged training with senseis that suited each of his charges best during the one month break. _

_Sasuke's reasons for leaving Konoha will be different than before, though the basis for his reasoning will be to acquire power._

_Hiei will NOT make an appearance in this fic and whether he is related to Naruto, however distantly, will be up to you, the readers._

_There will be another delay in the updating of Chapter 10 due both to my parents visiting and the fact that I am only half finished with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If my wife finishes her copy before I finish mine, I'll never live it down. Wish me luck, Ja Ne!_


	10. Youthful Explosion, Genii of Hardwork!

_A/N: Wow, there was a lot of reviews for Chapter 9... Well here is my response to some of them..._

_**Choblach:**__ Thanks for the blue/green clarification._

_**Vassago-Toxicity:**__ Yes, Shikamaru beat Temari this time, utilizing the Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu (Shadow Neck Bind Technique)._

_**G:**__ Thanks for pointing out the two robes thing. When I re-read it I was like WTF? As for the chakra toad thing... The Spirit Cuffs hold back ALL of Naruto's chakra. When Yusuke took them off in Yu Yu Hakusho, the result was an explosion of power and his spirit energy turned into a phoenix, very similar to Puu in later episodes. Unlike Yusuke, Naruto has three different types of energy. Human Chakra, Demon Youki and the mix between the two. The Blue Dragon representing Naruto and the Red Kitsune representing Kyuubi, and the purple toad... well because I couldn't think of anything else... That part might be changed at a later time, but for now it shall remain as it is._

_**brolly501:**__ Sakura's chakra control is no where near Tsunade's current level. What I meant when I compared them was that Sakura's control was comparable, if not better, than Tsunade's when she was Sakura's age. Sorry for the confusion._

_**AznPuffyHair:**__ Naruto's control over Kyuubi's chakra is substantially greater due to the Jagan. However, also due to the Jagan, Naruto's personality will be different as well. The Jagan will not like the chaotic personality changes Kyuubi's chakra has on Naruto, so while the Jagan will help Naruto control Kyuubi's chakra better when/if he draws on it, the Jagan will also hinder Naruto's use of the demonic chakra except in extreme circumstances._

_**xXChristineXx:**__ Yes, Naru-chan will learn the Rasengan, AND he'll be able to do it one handed by the time they meet up with Tsunade-hime._

_**Cyber-Porygon: **You'll just have to wait and see. However, Naruto will be able to use his elemental affinity with his sword. BUT... (I bet you knew there was one in there somewhere, eh?) I may/may not keep his elemental affinity the same._

_Also, be warned... This Chapter is much shorter than my usual._

* * *

**__ Chapter Ten: Youthful Explosion, Genii of Hard Work!**

* * *

This sent everyone into hushed whispers, including the other contestants.

"In fact, I think you might want to take off your weights," he said to Lee. "I want as good a match as possible."

Lee smiled. "Very well, Naruto-kun, but just because you beat Neji does not mean I will go easy on you. For the last year, it has been my goal has been to defeat Hyuuga Neji in hopes that I can prove my nindo that even one such as myself, who can not use either ninjutsu or genjutsu, can become a great shinobi. But now you, another genius of hard work, has defeated my rival. Now you, Naruto-kun, are my new target."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Naruto smirking. "Come at me with everything you got!"

Lee looked up to where his sensei stood. Gai nodded giving Lee the okay to follow through with Naruto's request. He then pulled down his orange leg warmers that revealed weights that now said 'Hard Work'. He unlatched them and took them off of his legs, much like he did in the preliminaries. When he dropped them, the craters he made this time were even bigger.

Lee then vanished and only a green blur could be seen running around the arena, Lee suddenly rematerialized in front of Naruto, his fist just an inch from the blonde's face. Naruto, to his credit, did not move. Lee then flipped backwards and got into his Goken stance.

Naruto smirked and took off his robe throwing it to the side. He stood straight up, his legs together, his wrists touching out in front of him. Both his wrists and his ankles began to glow as he spread them apart. His arms and legs seemed to be bound together. "Ante!" he shouted at the bonds of energy shattered and he release a massive amount of chakra. Two colors of chakra poured out of him. A blue chakra that took the form of a dragon that flew around the stadium and a red chakra that took the form of a certain kitsune. The two then merged together and became a massive toad made completely of purple chakra matching the size of, if not just slightly larger than the legendary Gamabunta. The energy stayed for a few seconds more before receding back into Naruto.

"Ready fuzzy brows?" asked Naruto confidently.

"That was a most Youthful Explosion of Power, Naruto-kun, but it will take much more than that to defeat me," said Rock Lee confidently. Naruto's Jagan began to glow slightly, but instead of the typical teal glow there was more of a violet hue in the glow.

Both combatants disappeared. A huge shockwave surged from the center of the arena followed by a small crater being formed. Next, came the reappearance of Naruto and Lee, both of their right forearms pushing against each other.

Naruto's arm twitched and he slightly flinched in pain as a small black tendril of power shot up his arm. Only Lee noticed. They jumped back from each other.

"I see that your arm is not completely healed," said Lee, "I wish only to fight you when you are at your absolute best. There is no joy in a victory over you at this time."

"Then you better give up, because I am not backing down from you," said Naruto annoyed.

"Very well, Naruto-kun, if that is your choice," said Lee sliding back into his fighting stance.

The purple chakra formed a cocoon around Naruto as he slid into a more basic fighting stance. They charged at each other again, becoming blurs of green and purple, meeting in the center, making the crater underneath them slightly bigger. This time, they locked hands, each trying to overpower the other. Lee's face was red from the effort, Naruto was fully enveloped in the purple chakra, his face a mask of concentration. Their arms were shaking when suddenly, they moved.

It was slight at first, only the most experienced shinobi would have noticed it.

He gave a half an inch, then finally an inch followed by another. Both fighters had dug their heals in deep, but Naruto was beginning to push Lee back, inch by inch.

Lee brought his hands back, while still holding onto Naruto's. Naruto was knocked off balance and Lee drove his right knee to Naruto's torso, then followed up with a left knee to Naruto's face. Naruto's head snapped back and he and Lee released each other's hands. Lee then went to finish up with a devastating axe kick, which Naruto narrowly avoided.

"Your effort is admirable Naruto-kun, but you can not hope to beat me in a pure taijutsu match," commented Lee.

Naruto said nothing as he slid into a low stance, his left hand on the sheath of his blade. With a flick of his thumb, Naruto brought out the sword just slightly. "Are you sure you can handle this Lee?"

Lee's response was a simple smile.

Naruto drew his blade as he charged. Lee dodged doing a back flip. Naruto swung and slashed at Lee, but he was able to dodge the strikes, every now and then countering Naruto. Naruto managed to dodge or parry most of Lee's attacks, though a few connected, if only just barely. After a short exchange, the two combatants broke apart. Naruto re-sheathed his sword.

"Kuso... You're good," said Naruto smiling.

"You are not too bad either," said a smiling Lee.

Naruto ran left, Lee's movements were parallel to Naruto's.

Naruto threw three kunai at Lee, who slid to a stop to dodge the projectiles. Naruto then drew his sword, "Jougen Yaiba Sen!"

The blade of the Shikon no Ruujin was glowing bright purple as Naruto drew it. The crescent shaped beam flew at Lee, who ducked swiftly to avoid it slicing him in half. Lee went to counter Naruto, only to find the blonde triclops was no longer where he was. "Jougen Kiriorosu!"

Lee jumped back and did three back flips as Naruto attacked from above. He was shocked by the deep gashes made in both the well around the fighting pit and on the ground from Naruto's attacks. The moment of shock was enough distraction for Naruto to try and end it. "Ten no Kenbu: Juu Tsurugi Dageki!"

* * *

"There's no way Lee can win now!" said Sakura excitedly. 

"More like there's no way Naruto can pull that jutsu off," said Ten-Ten arriving to where the others were standing.

"What do you mean?" asked Ino curiously.

"Naruto had to use the full powers of the Jagan to pull it off better than he ever has last time," she told them, "Even then it took a lot out of him. Naruto can barely manage one fifth of the complete attack normally, though without the Spirit Cuffs on him he could probablly manage four of the ten strikes. I'm actually surprised he was able to use all ten on Neji with them still activated."

"What do they do Ten-Ten-san?" asked Sakura.

"They hold back Naruto's chakra," answered, much to everyone's surprise, Ino, "I thought it was massive before, but his chakra stores easily rival Sandaime-sama's or that Suna-nin Gaara."

"That's because Naruto and Gaara are Jinchuuriki," said Ten-Ten casually, though Sakura paled.

"He-he told you..." she asked shocked and a bit afraid, not to mention she was a bit jealous that Ten-Ten knew and she had just barely known Naruto for a couple months. Naruto didn't tell them until it became absolutely necessary. Sakura knew she should be happy that Ten-Ten had accepted Naruto knowing the Kyuubi no Kitsune was inside of him, but her other feeling squashed it down.

"Jiraiya-sama let it slip, but he never did actually tell me exactly what a Jinchuuriki is," said Ten-Ten. Shikamaru got a contemplative look on his face and Shino remained impassive, though one of his eyebrows did raised slightly.

Sakura relaxed a bit, but also made a note to kill a certain Gama Sennin. Ino noticing this decided to steer the question away from the current topic, but made a note to talk to Sakura or Naruto later.

"Why not forehead?" asked Ino tauntingly, "It's not like you have any claim on Naruto. Or do you? Trying to get your hooks into both boys? I'd never would have figured you to be the type."

Sakura wanted to both hug and crush Ino for her distraction, though she couldn't contain the blush that graced her features. "Wh-What!? It's not like that!"

"Sure it isn't," Ino teased sarcastically, "After all, Sasuke is only the gorgeous, tragic, mysteriously dark hero and Naruto has that cute animalistic, and endlessly energetic attitude about him. Who couldn't help but admire those qualities about them. How would a girl be able to choose?"

Sakura turned an interesting shade of red that could have matched Hinata a few hours prior when Naruto dedicated his match against Neji to her. Shino remained still and emotionless, while Chouji and Shikamaru tried to ignore the conversation as best as possible while the latter of the two mumbled about how troublesome the girl's conversation had become.

**

* * *

**

Naruto became a purplish, black and yellow blur and charged Lee. Unlike the last time he did not completely vanish with this attack.

He landed a solid blow to Lee's stomach with his elbow and went to follow up with a strong uppercut, but Lee dodged, grabbing Naruto by the wrist and kneeing Naruto in the gut, before flipping the blonde three-eyed Genin into the air. Naruto flipped in mid air and landed deftly on his feet.

* * *

"How!?" shouted Sakura in shock. 

"The Ten no Kenbu: Juu Tsurugi Dageki relies heavily on speed. One must have a significant speed advantage on their opponent or catch them off guard for the jutsu to be effective," explained Ten-Ten, "When Naruto tapped into the maximum amount of power the Jagan, he not only increased his speed to a level Neji couldn't follow, but he also caught Neji off guard with both the speed and the power that Naruto used for the attack. The jutsu doesn't require the speed advantage that Naruto had on Neji, but still a slightly significant amount. Naruto's and Lee's speed is about even, with Lee having a slight advantage."

"Wow, Lee is faster than Naruto... How can you tell?" asked Ino.

"It's not that Lee is faster than Naruto. As Ten-Ten-san said, their speed is pretty much even," said Shikamaru, "Lee's advantage is that his speed will last longer. Naruto is using chakra to increase his speed to match Lee's, however, as his reserves get lower and lower, he'll eventually slowdown, where as since Lee can not use chakra, his speed is all natural, meaning he should be able maintain his longer than Naruto can, though he will eventually tire out, making his moves as slow and sluggish as Naruto's."

"But Naruto's Chakra reserves are huge," countered Ino.

"But his control is nowhere near where it should be," said Sakura, "It's Naruto's biggest weakness. He has at least high Genin to low Chuunin Chakra control, and while that is great for people like us, it doesn't do him much good because he has High Jonin/Kage level Chakra Reserves. It's unreal sometimes... But I remember while training for the exam... I tried to preform Kanashibari no Jutsu, the ANBU Level genjutsu Naruto used on Kiba, and passed out from Chakra exhaustion before I could even complete the technique. Naruto uses far more chakra to complete the jutsu than I even have and he can still fight. If his control was proportionate to the amount of Chakra he has, he'd be able to use Kanashibari on a large group of people without having to make eye contact with any of them."

**

* * *

**

No sooner than when Naruto landed was he knocked off his feet by a solid blow to his sternum by Lee.

He shakily stood up to see Lee charging at him.

Lee became a green tornado flurry of punches and kicks. Naruto's Jagan was burning brightly to keep up with the movements of Rock Lee.

* * *

"Wow," said Ten-Ten impressed, "I'm not sure if Neji could react that quickly to Lee's movements." **

* * *

**

It soon became who had the obvious advantage as Lee began to drive Naruto back. The blonde prospective Chuunin was kept on the defensive as he attempted to dodge and block each attack that rapidly came his way.

Lee managed to score a solid kick to Naruto's sternum and Naruto was certain he felt bones crack under the strain of Lee's kick. For perhaps the first time since finding out about the Kyuubi being contained inside of him, he was glad of the fact that the Yondaime had chosen him to contain the powerful beast. Now if he could only counter Lee. What he did next, was both one of the most brilliant and stupidest things he'd ever done.

As Lee came in for another powerful kick, Naruto dropped his guard and didn't even try to dodge, taking the full attack dead on.

Naruto's head snapped back as both Ino and Sakura shouted "NARUTO!"

Ten-Ten stood there in shock. She was glad Hinata hadn't seen that, but she didn't want to be there when she was told about the match. It was obvious the Hyuuga Heiress had a bit of a soft spot for the son of the Yondaime, though with the way the girl acted around him or whenever Naruto's name was mentioned it was hard to tell how deep those feelings ran. She was also concerned for Lee and how he would take it. She knew Lee felt terrible when he had thought he had snapped the neck of Tsurugi Misumi, someone he didn't know, but was a comrade all the same. Naruto was someone Ten-Ten knew that Lee respected from their first meeting when Lee had shown Uchiha Sasuke the weakness of the Sharingan.

Lee felt a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach as he watched Naruto tumble away in a disheveled heap. He looked on with wide eyes as Naruto laid there unmoving.

Genma looked at the unmoving Naruto a bit sadly before shaking his head. "The winner of this match..."

"I'm not done yet..." shouted a familiar voice as Naruto slowly stood up, massaging his neck. "Kuso... There is no way I'm letting you do THAT again..." He was still a little wobbly on his feet. Many flinched back on edge when Naruto's eyes opened to reveal the much feared slitted red eyes the resembled those of the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune. He closed his eyes again and shook his head as if to clear it. When he opened his eyes again, they were the typical sapphire blue, though they were slitted.

"Yosh! I see that even a blow like that could not extinguish your Flames of Youth!" Lee said excitedly as not only was Naruto alright, but the fight was not over. Lee then went into the Goken stance again.

"Oh no," said Naruto, "I already let you get close to me and take the advantage using only taijutsu. I'm not going to let that happen again." As he said this, the Jagan briefly glowed before his purple aura appeared around him. Black bolts of energy shot up Naruto's arm and he twitched in pain. He then made the familiar cross hand seal. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

One Naruto became three, which in turn became nine, nine became twenty seven and so on until the fighting area was filled with well over a hundred Narutos.

"Alright Lee!" they all shouted in unison, "Let's see what you've got!"

One of the Narutos charged at Lee and engaged him in a small bout of taijutsu, but was quickly defeated.

Lee didn't have time to rest as another jumped into the fray with a spinning heel kick, which he promptly ducked. Before Lee could counter the Bunshin's attack, it was pulled away by a third Naruto and he was attacked by a fourth and a fifth one in tandem.

Lee was able to easily dispatch one, but the other was quickly pulled out of the way of the Beautiful Blue Beast's axe kick, as three others moved in to attack. The first of the three attacked with a rapid flurry of punches, before jumping back as the second one attacked with an axe kick of it's own, which Lee dodged completely only to be attacked by the third one, which managed to get in a few glancing blows in before Lee demolished it.

Another Naruto charged doing ten two-handed seals. He then threw his hands out to the sides, palms open, facing Lee. "Goukaton: Inochi Enkou Danmaku no Aedama Kobushi (Hell Fire Release: Double Fist of the Mortal Flame Barrage)!"

Both hands burst into the familiar orange and black flames and Naruto unleashed a flurry of punching combos in an effort to subdue the Taijutsu Specialist. True to his speed and flexibility training, he was able to dodge them all, though there were a few close calls. Lee was able to dispel the Kage Bunshin with a powerful kick.

"Goukaton: Inochi Kaenhoushaki!" Lee barely had enough time to look behind him as he jumped out of the way of the spiraling stream of black and orange flames.

As Lee landed he spotted two more Narutos running through hand seals. "Goukaton: Inochi Kaenhoushaki!" They shouted in unison as they thrust their hands out sending streams of orange and black flames at Lee. Lee jumped straight into the air and then heard "Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" He twisted in the air when an orange and black fireball came flying at him, just barely missing him.

"You are a very formidable opponent Naruto-kun," said Lee landing, breathing hard. "But I am afraid I must end this. Kaimon, Kai (Open Gate, Release)!" The few Naruto Bunshins that were running at Lee were blown back by a shockwave of power." Lee then disappeared.

"KUSO! I forgot..." said one of the Narutos before turning into a puff of smoke. Each of the Narutos' Jagans began to glowing brightly, but Lee was still too fast, though the Narutos were now able to make the attempt to dodge.

Purple Chakra cocoons enveloped the remaining Narutos as they began to get used to Lee's attack patterns. While they weren't moving anywhere near as fast as Lee, the solid teamwork each of the Bunshins were demonstrating was astounding, though it was an odd sight for a single nin, who could not utilize either ninjutsu and genjutsu to have dozens of opponents on the defensive. However, as even the least battle hardened civilian could see, Lee's attack was beginning to expire.

"Kyuumon, Kai (Energy Gate, Release)!" shouted Lee. The pupils of his eyes dilated to a level that they could no longer be seen as power once again coursed through his body. The surrounding Narutos had to use chakra to keep themselves in place as they covered their faces from the dust that was kicked up into the air by the shockwave of power.

Lee once again began to zip through the Narutos, imitating a miniature tornado of kicks and punches dispelling many clones at once.

One Naruto turned to another as the green tornado started to make it's way towards them. "We can't compete with that!"

"Don't you think the rest of us don't know that... I figured that with the chakra cuffs off we'd be able to compete on equal terms with the Kyuumon... I don't understand... We couldn't barely keep up with the Kaimon..."

Try as they might, the Naruto Bunshins were slowly being methodically eradicated.

* * *

"I don't understand..." said a troubled Ino, "If Naruto's speed and strength is proportional to the amount of chakra he has why isn't he he able to keep up with Lee." 

Much to everyone's surprise Shino spoke up, "Kage Bunshin. From what my kikaichu tell me, the jutsu disburses Naruto's chakra evenly between the Bunshin and himself, making it impossible for my even bugs to discern the real one from the copies... I am certain that the Hyuuga he had fought earlier had similar problems telling the real one from the Bunshins, even with the 'all seeing' Byakugan. Because Naruto made so many Kage Bunshin, his chakra capacity, as large and as potent as it is, has been reduced drastically, thus reducing his maximum potential speed and strength."

"Apparently Naruto hasn't caught onto the fact as he hasn't dispelled any of the Bunshins to regain whatever chakra left in the remaining clones," said Shikamaru, "Instead, he uses them to push Lee's limitations and try to find his weakness. A good tactic, but if the fight draws out too long, Naruto might not have enough power to exploit any weaknesses Lee may show due to the obvious Chakra requirements of the Kage Bunshin."

* * *

"Hey I got an idea," said a Naruto to another. He looked at his twin confusedly. "Follow my lead, Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)!" he said to himself as he jumped at himself while simultaneously turning into a kunai. 

The second Naruto grinned. He saw Lee coming straight for him and through the 'kunai' at him, "Kazama Naruto Kunai Tokudan (Kazama Naruto Kunai Special)!"

Lee moved his head to the side as the kunai whizzed by him. It suddenly exploded in a puff of smoke changing back into a Naruto. Lee's eyes widened as the Naruto flew past him at such a close range while grabbing onto his arm. Naruto suddenly had Lee's right arm twisted behind him in a hammer lock and the slung his left arm around Lee's neck, restraining the green spandex wearing Genin.

"Give up Lee," said Naruto.

The Naruto who had flung his doppleganger then charged at the two of them completing the familiar six single handed hand seals, "Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!"

"Lee, give up!" the one holding him demanded.

"Seimon... KAI (Life Gate... RELEASE)!" shouted Lee as the Naruto behind him dispelled and the one charging him was blown back. Lee's skin turned red as chakra swirled around him.

* * *

"Kuso..." growled a Naruto, "If he keeps this up, there is no way he'll be able to even move after this match let alone compete in this stupid tournament... I better end this quickly..." 

"What do you have in mind?" asked one Naruto.

"Yeah, whatever you have planned, we'll run along with it..." said a third Bunshin.

"I've got nothing... You?" asked the first Naruto to the others.

"Guess it's back to doing things the old fashioned way, eh?" one of the others said a bit sheepishly.

"LET'S GET WILD!" the Naruto's shouted as one steeling their resolve.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, you are truly the embodiment of the Flames of Youth," said Lee, who promptly ducked as the blade of a Narutos sword slashed the air the his torso had been. Lee spun around and punched Naruto in the gut dispelling yet another Bunshin. He jumped back to evade another swipe from a sword blade. 

Lee then jumped towards the Naruto, spinning.

"Konoha Raiken!" he shouted as je drove his fist into the attacking Naruto.

Three more Narutos attacked him.

"Konoha Gouriki Senpu (Leaf Strong Whirlwind)!" he shouted as he spun in the air, kicking all of his attackers, dispelling them on contact.

He saw another Naruto charging at him, the Jagan blazing on his forehead orange and black flames coursing down his arm.

This Naruto was a blur of motion, but Lee could easily follow him. Just as Naruto was about to reach Lee, Lee disappeared and smashed his face into Naruto's gut. Much to his surprise, Naruto didn't vanish in a puff of smoke this time. Lee followed up with a right hook, and then kneed Naruto in the chest, finishing up with an axe kick for the finish. This time, Lee's heel dug into Naruto's shoulder and he slammed into the ground. Having lost his concentration and nearly his consciousness, the Kage Bunshins dissipated.

"It is time to finish this Naruto-kun!" shouted Lee as Naruto shakily stood up. Lee charged at Naruto, who stood by helplessly as Lee drew nearer. For a moment, their eyes locked.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu..." Naruto whispered. Lee was suddenly frozen in place as Naruto's Jagan started to glow again. It was still glowing brightly as Naruto charged Lee, making the familiar cross seal Naruto then shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Naruto slammed his fist into Lee's gut, "Ka!"

The next Naruto then jumped on that one's back doing a back flip, kicking Lee in the face. "Za!"

A third seemed to fly through the air between the first and second Narutos, driving his fist into Lee's gut. "Ma"

He followed with an uppercut. "Naruto!"

Lee was sent into the air towards another waiting Naruto, who hit Lee with a powerful jab in his back "Iwa (Rock)!"

Lee went crashing into a fifth Naruto who caught Lee across the face with a powerful scissor kick, "Hasami (Scissors)!"

Lee then went soaring into a sixth Naruto who had his hand enveloped in purple chakra. He landed a powerful palm strike into Lee face, shouting, "Ronbun (Paper)!" Sending him straight back in the opposite direction towards the fifth Naruto who merely backhanded Lee.

"Rendan!" he shouted.

"The Kazama Naruto Janken Rendan (Kazama Naruto Rock-Paper-Scissors Combo)!" said Naruto, who was now panting heavily. "I haven't felt so worn out without passing out since Sasuke-teme and I learned how to walk up trees..." The others nodded in agreement.

"The Winner of this Mat-" started Genma.

"WAIT!" shouted Lee, struggling to stand.

"N-no way!" said Naruto in shock.

"Naruto-kun, it's time we gave this all we've got," said Lee, "You are a most Youthful opponent, and even though I will not be able to continue after this match- win or lose- it was an honor to fight you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

**

* * *

**

Ten-ten shouted, "Lee, don't do it!" She had a frigthened expression on her face.

"Wh-what's going on... Ten-Ten-san?" asked Sakura worriedly.

"Despite his strength and speed advantage, Naruto is still pushing Lee to his limits," said Ten-Ten. "The Hachimon (Eight Gates), as you know, pushes a person beyond those limits, but at a terrible price. Lee was really messed up after opening four of those gates during his fight a month ago. Despite only having the Shoumon (Wound Gate), open for such a short while, it still wreaked havoc all over his body, it could barely handle the strain. Lee's ending this match, one way or another. He knows that since he's had the Seimon (Life Gate) open for so long he won't be able to fight again for a while after this, so he's going to do whatever he can to keep Naruto from advancing. He's going to open more gates and according to Gai-sensei Lee can use at least two more."

"B-but... Why?" asked Sakura.

"Isn't it obvious forehead girl?" asked Ino teasingly, "With the exception of Shika-kun over there, boys are competitive by nature. They always have to one up each other, always testing themselves to see who is the best. Look at the arena after both of Naruto's matches with both Neji and Lee. Even though Shikamaru didn't really do much damage to the arena, that Temari girl is big enough of a tomboy to do enough damage for the both of them."

Sakura frowned because she knew Ino was right. "People like Lee and Sasuke-kun are competitive enough as it is, without Naruto's help. When you think a person can't be anymore motivated, or get anymore competitive he'll surprise you every time. Naruto always brings out the best in a person, no matter who they are or what they've done." Sakura had a small smile on her face when she said it.

"I just hope Naruto and Lee will be alright after this," said Ten-Ten solemnly.

"Those bakas are too stubborn and too stupid to let anything keep them down for long," said Kiba smirking, "And it's a good thing too, because Naruto still owes me a re-match."

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed.

* * *

"Lee, you're barely holding yourself together..." pleaded Naruto, "Don't do this..." 

"I am sorry Naruto-kun, but I can not comply... Shoumon, Kai (Wound Gate, Release)!" Lee was enveloped in green chakra which shot up in a column, as his skin seemed to turn redder. The winds seemed to wrap around the green clad genin as he prepared his attack. Closing his eyes in concentration he yelled out, "TOMON... KAI (LIMIT GATE... RELEASE)!"

Shock struck through all of those who had knowledge of the Hachimon.

* * *

"Astonishing... Not only is he able to use the Hachimon... But to open the Tomon by force of sheer will..." commented the Kazekage, "A prime candidate for Chuunin provided that it doesn't have too many adverse affects on his body." 

"I couldn't agree more Kazekage-dono," commented Sarutobi, "I'm not sure that even his Jounin Sensei could accomplish a feat like that."

"Ah, so he trains under Maito Gai... I had expected as much, seeing the boy's taijutsu and use of the Hachimon," said the Kazekage distastefully, "Not to mention the boy's horrid taste in fashion..."

Sarutobi chuckled, "Yes... Gai is definitely a... unique individual, however, his skills speak for themselves. It goes without saying that even though Lee can't use either ninjutsu or genjutsu, due to his condition, he will be a shinobi who will one day achieve greatness that either rivals or surpasses that of his sensei."

**

* * *

**

Lee's muscles tensed and tightened. They bulged and Naruto could see the veins in some of them become visible. To his own astonishment and that of others, he faded slowly from sight. Even the Hokage, Kazekage and Gai had a fairly difficult time following the enthusiastic genin.

All three of Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Fast..." was all he could say before he exploded in a puff of smoke. Within the span of a second, all but one Naruto was turned to smoke.

"Konoha Shofu (Leaf Rising Wind)!" Lee shouted as he kicked Naruto in the face sending him sailing into the air. His bandages then began to unravel. "Kage Buyo (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf)!" Lee then disappeared to reappear right behind Naruto. His bandages wrapped themselves around Naruto binding him so he couldn't move. "Omote Renge (Front Lotus)!" Lee and Naruto flipped upside-down and started spinning rapidly.

Lee then separated from Naruto and flipped away as Naruto hit the ground head first only to explode in a puff of smoke. Lee looked shocked and stumbled a bit. It took his all to remain standing.

"Sorry Lee..." said Naruto from behind his fellow Konoha Genin, "You've already proved someone can become great without ninjutsu or genjutsu. It's my turn to prove to the world that no matter what is thrown in my way, I will always win. Nothing will stand in my way to become Hokage so I can protect my precious people."

"How...?" Lee asked not turning around.

"You're like me... Too stubborn to give up, even when there is no chance of winning. I knew that you wouldn't let the Kazama Naruto Janken Rendan keep you down, so I had my Kage Bunshin pretend his was me..."

_FLASH BACK_

"_Fast..." said the Kage Bunshin. Lee was moving faster than any of them could see. Suddenly smoke erupted all around the Kage Bunshin as Naruto was sent flying out of the smoke cloud at a much faster velocity than he thought possible. Naruto skid across the ground and hit the wall with great impact, but everyone's attention were on Lee and his Kage Bunshin, which he was barely able to keep up due to the pain from that last blow from Lee._

"_Konoha Shofu! Kage Buyo! Omote Renge!" shouted Lee._

_The Bunshin was difficult to maintain due to the strength of Lee's attacks, but Naruto somehow managed. He watched as his Kage Bunshin hit the ground. Hard. Even with the Kyuubi's influence, Naruto doubted even he would survive such a devastating move. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could maintain the Kage Bunshin after that attack, so he moved behind Lee as the Bunshin puffed out of existence._

_END FLASH BACK_

"Most ingenious, Naruto-kun..." said Lee, his breathing heavily labored. "I look forward to fighting you again sometime..."

"As do I, Lee, as do I..." Naruto said softly as he hit Lee in the back of the neck, knocking him out. "He's down this time..." Naruto said to Genma, who nodded.

"The winner of this match-up... Kazama Naruto!" he shouted as the entire arena blew up with applause and cheering.

Naruto watched as the med-nins carried off Rock Lee with anticipation. "Lee, we'll definitely fight again sometime..."

**

* * *

**

Naruto made his way up to the waiting area where everyone else was. Before he could do or say anything he was engulfed in a hug. Before he could hug back, the person pulled away as their fist collided with the top of his head.

"Sakura-chan!" he complained.

"Don't you DARE 'Sakura-chan' me, Naruto-baka!" shouted Sakura, "Do you have any idea how worried we were up here! Especially after you took that kick! I thought Lee-san had snapped your neck!"

"Y-You were worried about me?" Naruto asked her with a slight smile.

"I..." Sakura blushed, "Of course I was baka!" She punched him again. "We're a team! You might be stubborn, annoying, and an over all pain, but you're still important to us. It just wouldn't be the same without you!"

"Arigato... Sakura-chan..." he said smiling softly.

"Don't forget the rest of us," said Ten-Ten, "I have half a mind to kill you and Lee for all those stunts you two pulled out there! You both could have been seriously hurt! What were you two thinking?"

"Err... I guess we got a little carried away..." Naruto said sheepishly.

"A LITTLE!" this time it was Ino, not Sakura, who hit him.

"Ow!" he said in response.

"Look at the arena... That was more than a little carried away!"

"Gomensai..." Naruto said sheepishly. His grin never disappearing.

"Still it was an awesome match Naruto," congratulated Chouji, "You're bound to become a Chuunin if you keep it up!"

Ino then hit Chouji, "Don't encourage him, or else he'll do something even more reckless or completely stupid and possibly get himself killed."

"There's no use worrying about it now... He's fine now and Lee didn't have the Shoumon or Tomon open for too long so he should make a full recovery in no time." said Shikamaru, who instantly regretted opening his mouth.

"How can you say that Shikamaru!" shouted Sakura, "I know that neither Lee nor Naruto are all that close to you, but shouldn't you be more concerned about what happens to them?"

Shikamaru sighed, "The exam proctors would have stepped in before things would have gotten too out of hand. Besides, it's too troublesome to worry about things you can't control."

Sakura had to visibly restrain herself from hitting Shikamaru due to his apathetic attitude.

**

* * *

**

Shiranui Genma surveyed the arena.

"Those kids are really something, huh? Kakashi and Gai's students, as well as Asuma and Kurenai's, are definitely an exceptional bunch," said Genma to himself before shaking his head.

"Will Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara please report to the Arena?"

_

* * *

_

A/N:_ There it is Chapter 10: Youthful Explosion, Genii of Hard Work!_

_I hope you all enjoyed the match between Naruto and Lee. And no, neither the Kazama Naruto Janken Rendan nor the Kazama Naruto Kunai Tokudan are the technique that Naruto wouldn't show Ten-Ten, though that technique will make an appearance soon enough. I was originally going to use the "Fastball Special" used in X-men (you know where someone- usually Colossus- throws Wolverine) but decided to go with a sort of variation of that move using the Henge no Jutsu._

_I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. With finishing up Deathly Hallows, my parents visiting, changing departments at work, a small bit of writer's block, and getting sick, it was a very difficult time to get written._

_On a plus side, I managed to beat my wife to finishing the book. When I started up reading again, she was three chapters a head of me, and I still managed to beat her to the end by a full chapter and a half!!!_

_With my parents being here, I didn't have much time to write, so I got off track- resulting in me not knowing exactly how to end the chapter. As it was, the beginning of the chapter went through a few revisions before I felt I got it right. Still, I think it came out alright._

_So... Should I postpone the Sasuke/Gaara match until the end, starting the invasion like in canon during their match, or should I finish out the tournament?_

_Neji, Temari and Lee are down and out of the tournament, with Naruto having advanced to the Semi-Finals. Sasuke vs Gaara, Shino vs Kankuro, and Sakura vs Shikamaru are all to come in the next few chapters, along with the invasion and the epic fight between Gaara and Naruto, the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Tanuki and Kyuubi no Kitsune respectively, not to mention the return of Haku!_

_Be sure to voice your opinions on who should be made Chuunin this time around! Also, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on what they would like to see as Naruto's elemental affinity_.


	11. Sand Fury, Kitsune Worry, The Quarter Fi

_A/N: All right and now to address the questions of my loyal readers. Sorry for the delay, it took much longer than I wanted to, to get this chapter out._

_As I stated in my author's notes in UE: Weapon-X, Yondaime-sama will remain Kazama Arashi in this fic, but will go by his real name, Namikaze Minato, in said fic._

_**Edengrave: **__I see Naruto being more noble than most other shinobi, thus when he began to fight Lee, he engaged his comrade in taijutsu to make things fair. He quickly realized that Lee's disability was a strength, and thus shifted tactics. Also another big difference between Lee and Naruto is that Lee was properly trained and Naruto wasn't. People took the time to teach Lee things, despite the fact he had a disability that made him incapable of molding chakra. These same people did not want Naruto to be a shinobi, so they hindered his progress and made things more difficult for him at every turn._

_**Akalon:**__ I'm trying to get away from Canon as the fic progresses, however, Shikamaru has been from the beginning the only one who was a definite promotion to Chuunin__ As for anyone else... Now THAT would be telling..._

_**necrosdaf:**__ I had 10 competitors in an 8 man bracket, thus four competitors would have had to fight an extra match to even participate in the Quarter Finals. Thus, the two "pig tail" matches were Naruto vs Neji to see who would face Rock Lee and Shikamaru vs Temari to see who would face Sakura. The quarter finals matches are, in bracket order, Kazama Naruto vs Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke vs Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Kankuro vs Aburame Shino and Haruno Sakura vs Nara Shikamaru._

_The Semi-Finals will be Naruto vs the winner of the Sasuke/Gaara match, and the second match would consist of the winners of the Shino/Kankuro match and the Sakura/Shikamaru match._

_**FrAnKiEHaRrY: **__Yes, Sasuke is going to leave the village, but it will not happen exactly as it had in canon, though there will be a team of Chuunin/Exceptional Genin that will chase after Sasuke and the Otoyon (Sound Four)._

_**Seikodesu:** Don't worry, Naruto is going to slow down in the new jutsu department pretty soon. Most all of the new techniques are a result of his Kekkei Genkai._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Sand's Fury, Kitsune's Worry, the Quarter Finals Continue!**

* * *

"Will Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara please report to the Arena?" asked Genma. 

"Kuso!" Naruto cursed, "Stupid Sasuke-teme isn't here yet..." Naruto clenched his fists. A black bolt of energy shot through his right arm.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" Sakura said hitting Naruto. "He'll be here... He wouldn't miss this... Surely not even Kakashi-sensei wouldn't allow them to be late to get Sasuke-kun disqualified..." she fretted.

Gaara moved slowly from the corner of the room, his face an emotionless mask, yet Ino could sense the underlaying madness beneath the calm facade. Naruto, however, could see the pain in the red haired Suna Genin's eyes. The lonely eyes of pain, mirrored in the eyes of his fellow Jinchuuriki. "Kazama... When I have finished with the Uchiha... I will kill you."

They watched as Gaara stalked over to the arena. Annoyance at the Uchiha's tardiness and Naruto's whole existence was evident.

Jinchuuriki... How Naruto loathed that word. Somehow it made him feel less human, as if his whole purpose in life was to be shunned, or sculpted into the perfect weapon.

"N-Naruto... Be careful around him... There's something dangerous about him..." said Ino shakily.

"You have no idea Ino-chan..." said Naruto, his gaze never leaving Gaara as the boy stalked down to the arena.

* * *

People were becoming impatient. Gaara was as well. Temari, Kankuro and Naruto was well as a few others could almost feel and taste the maddening bloodlust that seemed to roll of the boy in waves, despite his perfectly calm demeanor. The fact Sasuke was given an extra ten minutes to show up to the arena to report for his match was not helping much. Especially after the Kyuubi Gaki fought two matches already and the Nara kid won his match after four hours of strategic maneuvering. 

"As much as I hate to do this... It looks like we'll have to disqualify Uchiha-san..." said the Sandaime Hokage solemnly.

"Surely you jest Hokage-dono?" asked the Yondaime Kazekage, "After all, the Daimyous from all across the Elemental Countries have come specifically to watch your Uchiha and your Hyuuga perform, as well as my Gaara. It would be unfair to rob them of such an opportunity of seeing the Uchiha match up against Gaara. I suggest we postpone the match until later... After all, it could only build up the following match that pits the winner of the Uchiha/Gaara match against the son of the Konoha no Kiroi Senko."

"I suppose you're right, however, should he not return by the time his match is set to begin, we shall have no choice but to disqualify him," conceded Sarutobi.

"Agreed," said the Kazekage.

* * *

An aid of the Hokage used the Konoha Shunshin no Jutsu (Leaf Body Flicker Technique) to appear next to Genma. After a moment of conference the Chuunin left and Genma was ready to make his announcement. 

"Since Uchiha Sasuke has still not arrived..." he began only to be interrupted once again.

A large puff of smoke erupted from near Genma and Gaara and leaves swirled all around it. As the smoke cleared the familiar forms of Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke could be seen. Like Naruto, Sasuke had also gone through a wardrobe change. Instead of the high collared blue t-shirt and khaki shorts, Sasuke was wearing a black one piece outfit. It was high collared and only went down to just past his knee caps. He wore black sandals instead of the usual blue ones, with tape running up half way up his knee. His white and blue cloth bracers were replaced with white and black ones that had leather straps on them.

"I do hope we're not too late..." said Kakashi giving his familiar smile that was only evidenced by his one visible eye, his familiar Icha Icha Paradise book open in his hands. "But we stopped to save a fish from drowning in a nearby stream, then a black cat crossed our path and we had to take the long way. Finally, just before we arrived, I realized I put my hitai-ite over the wrong eye and i ended up copying a mime. Did I mention we got lost on the road of life?"

"Hn," grunted Sasuke, "We'd have been later had I let you delay us any longer. It's bad enough we're just now showing up considering how long that one match took." Sasuke's voice was full of annoyance at Kakashi's habits.

"You're just in time actually, we were just about to postpone your match," said Genma.

"That will no longer be necessary," said Sasuke looking over his opponent. Gaara was as stoic as ever, but Sasuke could sense the subtle anticipation of the fight bubbling just underneath the surface.

"Very well... The second match of the Chuunin Selection Exam Quarter Finals... Uchiha Sasuke vs Sabaku no Gaara... Fight!"

Genma jumped away from the two opponents as Kakashi used the Konoha Shunshin no Jutsu (Leaf Body Flicker Technique). He suddenly appeared amongst the other competitors of the Exam Tournament.

Sasuke disappeared, only to reappear in front of Gaara whose eyes opened wide in surprise. Sasuke attacked with a spinning kick but a tendril of sand blocked the attack. Sasuke disappeared again and attacked from a different angle. Another tendril of sand blocked his attack.

* * *

From above the others were watching in awe. 

"Wow!" Sakura said breathlessly, "He's speed has to match Lee's and Naruto's!"

"Only if Lee isn't using his gates," said Naruto, his Jagan glowing, "His attacks lack power though... He hits no where near as hard as Lee does." As he said this he rubbed the phantom pain in his neck.

"I'm impressed Naruto. I had little doubt that training under Jiraiya would prepare you enough to be able to defeat Neji. However, I wasn't too sure if you could beat a fresh Lee with your second match being so close after you first one," said Kakashi.

"If Shikamaru's match hadn't have lasted so long, he wouldn't have woken up to fight his second match," said Sakura teasingly.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto whined.

"Still, speed training wasn't the only thing we did on our short trip out of the village," said Kakashi.

"Oh, what else did you do?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Pay attention because I have little doubt Sasuke will have to use it during this match," said Kakashi, "If there is anything Sabaku no Gaara is not, it's a pushover."

"So, Kakashi, my eternal rival!" shouted a familiar voice, "At last you have decided to finally show up to this most Youthful event! I must say I am very impressed by your student Naruto-kun, who not only defeated my Neji, but my most youthful student Lee!"

Ten-Ten merely groaned at the approach of her sensei. For all the man's exceptional skills, Maito Gai was still embarrassing to be around.

Naruto scowled. "You copied Bushy Brow's taijutsu..." He was still avidly watching the fight between Gaara and Sasuke.

"Only to help train Sasuke with his speed. He has had no where near the conditioning for it that Lee does, so he can't fully utilize it to it's full potential," said Kakashi.

It was Gai's turn to frown. "You didn't teach him THAT jutsu, did you?"

Kakashi raised an eye-brow, "Isn't that a bit hypocritical coming from you Gai? After all, you taught your student to open the Hachimon and that is as big of a kinjutsu as Kage Bunshin if not used properly."

"What jutsu is he talking about Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura inquisitively.

"It looks like you're all about to find out," said Kakashi cryptically, seeing Sasuke at the top of a wall, while Gaara had a sphere of sand surrounding him.

* * *

Sasuke had grown desperate. Even after all his training he still didn't seem to be at Gaara's level. To his own credit though, he was the first person to ever make it past Gaara's primary defense, only to reveal a secondary defense directly applied to Gaara's skin. 

There was only one jutsu in his small arsenal that he was absolutely sure would penetrate the absolute sand defense belonging to Sabaku no Gaara. 'Ox, Rabbit, Monkey...'

"CHIDORI!" Sasuke shouted, white lightening surged through his arm in the palm of his hand as he raced down the wall, leaving a small trail of devastation in his wake as the chorus of one thousand birds could be heard chirping in the distance.

* * *

"That's the technique that you almost used on Zabuza!" exclaimed Sakura. 

"Chidori, One Thousand Birds, my original technique. The one that is not a copy," said Kakashi with a bit of pride in his voice. "Because of the speed requirements of the Jutsu, your father, Naruto, forbid me from using it. To be effective one has to be able to move at very high speeds, which creates a sort of tunnel vision for the wielder. However, the Sharingan negates that weakness."

"It's different from the one you used on the bridge..." noted Naruto, "It's weaker... Your's was blue."

"The Chidori is an A-Ranked Assassination Jutsu, which is also incomplete. The Jutsu uses Lighting Chakra that will penetrate almost anything," explained Kakashi, "However, the version I used on Tazuna's bridge was called Raikiri, an S-Ranked Jutsu. It requires much more Chakra, thus why it is blue and not white like Sasuke's attack and allows me to do more than just stab my opponent."

* * *

"Kuso!" complained Kankuro, "He's already taking things too far. It's way to soon for this!" 

"There's nothing we can do about it now, just be prepared to move out!" snapped Temari at her younger brother.

* * *

Sasuke was dodging many projectiles and spikes of sand that were sent his in his path to block his way. 

As he neared the ball of sand he couldn't help but wonder, momentarily, if he was taking the best course of action. The vibes coming off of the sphere were too creepy, and yet, familiar.

* * *

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "Shit! That's not normal chakra!" he mumbled in surprise. Only Gai, Kakashi and Shikamaru heard him as everyone else was intensely watching Sasuke and Gaara's match. 

A sudden spike in Gaara's chakra made Ino gasp in surprise and she fell to her knees, breathing deeply.

"Ino!" exclaimed Sakura, "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine..." said Ino, "Just a little woozy... Skipped breakfast is all..."

Ten-Ten, Kiba, Chouji, and Sakura looked at her in worry, and Kakashi and Gai had looks of understanding. Shino seemed to be impassive, though his eyebrows furrowed in concern and Shikamaru sent a few glances her way to make sure she was truly all right, but didn't press for answers, though she knew that he had already figured out that Gaara's strange chakra had something to do with it. Naruto, on the other hand, was focused solely on the match below.

* * *

Sasuke continued to charge his opponent, making his way through the streams of sand being sent at him. Finally, Sasuke reached the sphere of sand. Temari, Kankuro and Baki all looked on in mixed shock and horror as Sasuke's Chidori tore right through Gaara's Suna no Tate (Shield of Sand). 

Sasuke felt something soft and warm. He knew then that he not only got through Gaara's primary defense, but his secondary as well and had pierced the skin. Seeing as the sphere had not crumbled, he knew he'd missed the killing blow. With luck, he hopefully had put Gaara out of the fight.

Sasuke tried to pull his arm out, only to have the sphere of sand latch onto him tightly. Apparently he had not put Gaara out of the fight, but simply made him angry. He could feel the sand rumbling, as if something big was coming. In desperation, Sasuke pushed against the sphere of sand with his feet, reenforcing he legs with chakra, to get away from whatever Gaara planned.

Sasuke managed to just barely pull himself away in time for a spike of sand to emerge from where his body had been moments before. Sasuke, was winded and breathing heavily. The Uchiha heir went to take a moment to rest when another spike of sand lanced out at him, followed by others.

The spikes were coming from all directions and at random intervals. Sasuke was barely following them with the Sharingan, and just barely dodging them, getting clipped in the arms and legs. Sasuke managed to get away but not before Gaara managed to drive a sand spike through his right shoulder.

The sphere seemed to settle down quite a bit after Sasuke got a good distance away. Sasuke knew that he'd have enough chakra for only one more Chidori before he was completely out of chakra, but with his new injuries, he doubted that he'd be able to actually land an incapacitating blow, so he did the only sensible thing.

"Proctor... I concede," he said, much to the shock of the crowd.

* * *

"WHAT!" Shouted Naruto. "B-But... Why!?" 

"The Chidori takes a very substantial amount of Chakra and concentration to create and even more to maintain," explained Kakashi, "It's an assassination jutsu, meant to be a one hit finishing move. Sasuke could, at best, perform one more, but the chances of him landing such a blow to Gaara in his condition is very low. If Sasuke were to continue as he is now, Gaara would kill him."

Naruto felt something drop in the pit of his stomach .

"One thing you must remember Naruto, if you are to obtain your dream of becoming Hokage," explained Kakashi, "Is the difference between becoming a legendary shinobi, like Jiraiya, and a hero of legend like the Yondaime is knowing when the odds are stacked against you. Though in the case of your father, there was little choice in the matter and he chose what was right over what was easy."

* * *

Genma looked mildly surprised, but nodded in understanding. Sasuke began to move up towards the observation deck where his team and perhaps some med-nins were waiting. "Very well... The winner of the second match... Saba-" 

"MY BLOOD!" Came a crazed shout as a column of sand blew towards an unsuspecting Sasuke. Sasuke turned in time to watch it slowly approach. He closed his eyes in acceptance of fate when he felt a wave of sand hit his face. It was as if someone through a few handfuls of sand at him, not the barreling column that should have crushed him.

Opening his eyes he saw Genma standing between himself and Gaara, who was holding his own bloodied shoulder.

"The match is over," said Genma sternly.

Gaara got a crazed look in his eye, as if he was about to unleash something horrific. A surge of energy was felt off to the side and Genma, Gaara and Sasuke looked towards the competitor's platform. Naruto's eyes were red and slitted and his Jagan was glowing fiercely.

Gaara's eyes took on a strange glint that went noticed only by Naruto. The pupils of his eyes had a golden, star-like pattern in them. "Kazama... I look forward to spilling your blood." A swirl of sand enveloped Gaara and he teleported to his sibling's location.

* * *

Many of the people in the stands were now cheering wildly at climatic end of the match, but Sasuke took his loss hard and almost getting himself killed after the match. He was too busy mentally berating himself for letting down his guard as he went to the competitors box to really care about the crowd's reaction to his and Gaara's. 

"You did well Sasuke," said Kakashi.

"I let my guard down," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, holding his shoulder.

"Yes, you did," replied Kakashi, "Take it as a lesson learned."

Sasuke nodded as a team of med-nins rushed over to him. Sasuke passed his team on the way to the infirmary, "Sakura, show everyone what you can do... Dobe... Good luck."

"We'll come see you after our matches, all right, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura, while Naruto was uncharacteristically silent.

"Watch over the dobe and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," said Sasuke.

"Naruto will be fine, however if YOU don't get going you won't be," she scolded him. He nodded and went to the infirmary.

* * *

Only two people were not focused on the end of Sasuke's match. 

"Naruto... Are you all right?" asked Ten-Ten.

"I... I-I... I can't beat him..." said Naruto, his hands gripping the railing tightly.

"What are you talking about? With the way you beat both Lee and Neji, I'm sure you will do just fine," said Ten-Ten, "Sasuke messed up. He gambled everything on the chance that he would finish the match with a single jutsu and he lost. Had Sasuke stabbed the Chidori about an inch and a half to the left and three inches down and Gaara would no longer have a heart."

Naruto smiled at her attempt to encourage him, but he looked at her with a mournful gaze. "Gaara... He's... He's like me... Except... Where I had people who helped me... Who actually accepted me for who I am and not... Just accepted me... He's had no one..."

"What do you mean, Naruto?" asked Ten-Ten worriedly.

"The fear, the hatred, the loneliness..." explained Naruto, "You can tell by the way his own brother and sister react to him, not to mention their sensei, that he's had no one to pull him away from his own darkness..."

"I-I don't understand Naruto..."

"You don't want to either..." said Naruto sadly, "Those who do are the ones who are lost. And those who are lost, are rarely found, even IF someone wanted to find them. Gaara and I... We're the same, but I'm the lucky one. I was found, saved from my own darkness, but he's still lost, in the dark all alone, and yet... He's stronger for it..."

"Naruto..."

"I've only made it this far because I've had people looking out for me, with out them... I wouldn't be here today," said Naruto, "But he has no one. He made it on his own when I'm sure not even I could have. If it wasn't for Ojii-san, and Iruka-sensei... Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-teme, and Sakura-chan... You... I-I... I could be like him... Like Gaara..."

"Don't be silly Naruto," soothed Ten-Ten, "You're nothing like him. You are you, Kazama Naruto, son of Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage and aspiring future Hokage."

"I am me... But... I... I'm not enough... I never have been..." said Naruto mournfully, "I try my best... But I always mess up... Hinata-chan says I'm strong because no matter how bad things get, I never give up..."

"And Hinata is right, Naruto," reassured Ten-Ten, "You are strong, and it was because you wouldn't give up that you beat Neji and Lee."

"It's not the same," said Naruto.

"How? How is it different?" pressed Ten-Ten. Ten-Ten nearly gasped when Naruto looked at her. It seemed that his eyes were ten years older than he was and she realized for the first time that she was seeing the real Naruto, the one he hid away from everyone. "What makes Gaara so different from the others, what makes him so much like you that it has you absolutely horrified of fighting him."

Naruto sighed. "Not here... Maybe.. If I survive.. I'll tell you... If not..."

The smack seemed to echo around the box. Everyone stared in awe at Naruto and Ten-Ten, the former was rubbing his reddened cheek, the latter had an angry expression on her face.

"I don't know who you are, but you're _NOT_ Naruto!" hissed Ten-Ten, "The Naruto _I_ know wouldn't back down no matter what. The Naruto _I_ know would go out there and fight until he's given it his all, get back up and do it again until either one or the both of them can no longer move."

"_THAT_ Naruto was a fool that never truly existed..." Naruto shot back, his eyes were narrowed and now slitted. The fierceness of the glare was intense enough to startle Ten-Ten as Naruto stormed off.

"Naruto..." Ten-Ten started to follow after him, but she was stopped by Gai, who shook his head. Sakura also went to follow him, but was stopped by Kakashi.

"Give Naruto some time to himself," said Kakashi, "Sakura, your match will be coming up soon. If Naruto isn't back up here by the time he is to face Gaara, we'll bring him up ourselves."

Sakura nodded, but gave another worried glance down the hall Naruto had left. Suddenly she was hit with a sense of deja vu.

_FLASHBACK_

_Naruto was standing in front of a large bonfire, trying to use the Jagan to control the fire, with minimal success. His hair was standing straight up and his Jagan was glowing a bright teal color and he currently was only wearing his orange jumpsuit pants. _

_Sakura could see the seal on Naruto's stomach dissipate as his chakra went back down to normal levels. When asked about it, Naruto evaded answering saying that is was just some sort of containment seal meant to help him control chakra. While Sakura and the others could tell he was telling the truth as Naruto was a horrible liar, they could also tell he was leaving something out, as his smile would falter for a quick moment before he became loud and overly cheery. After thinking on it for some time, she realized that Naruto ALWAYS acted like that and she wondered just how much of the real Naruto anyone ever saw..._

_END FLASHBACK_

Sakura wondered for a moment what had exactly remembered what had triggered that particular memory and thought pattern until she went back over what had recently happened.

_FLASHBACK_

_The smack seemed to echo around the box. Everyone stared in awe at Naruto and Ten-Ten, the former was rubbing his reddened cheek, the latter had an angry expression on her face._

"_I don't know who you are, but you're _NOT_ Naruto!" hissed Ten-Ten, "The Naruto _I_ know wouldn't back down no matter what. The Naruto _I_ know would go out there and fight until he's given it his all, get back up and do it again until either one or the both of them can no longer move."_

"_THAT Naruto was a fool that never truly existed..." Naruto shot back, his eyes were narrowed and now slitted. The fierceness of the glare was intense enough to startle Ten-Ten as Naruto stormed off._

_END FLASHBACK_

Sakura was now pondering, once again, exactly how much people actually saw beneath the mask, in fact, she also wondered if anyone ever got to see the real Naruto. She looked over at Gaara who seemed to be annoyed at everything around him, his face a mask of complete apathy. Briefly he cut his eyes towards her and their eyes met. She couldn't suppress the shudder that rang through her body.

She could see it in his eyes. The sadness, the loneliness... His madness, the darkness that thrived in his heart, the evil he had embraced.

THAT was why Naruto was scared. Because he had almost suffered the same fate... The same hatred, the same burning desire to prove the worth of his existence, the same void in his life that was devoid of all the things that people like herself took for granted. Ten-Ten was wrong, Sakura knew, Naruto did not fear Gaara, but what Gaara represented.

Naruto fought his loneliness and eventually found others to help him. Gaara embraced it and became the mad, bloodthirsty genin who lived only for the kill. All because no one would help him and the ones who wanted to were too afraid, afraid of the creature, the bijuu, that Gaara held within him. Naruto's strength came from fighting with and for others... Gaara's came from himself, it was his and his alone and THAT was why Naruto was afraid.

He was afraid that the people were right all along. That he and the Kyuubi no Youko were one and the same. Gaara's solitude forced him to embrace his demon and she was certain that Naruto thought the only way to overcome Gaara's demon was to embrace his own, becoming what he feared all along. Monster. Beast. Abomination. Freak. Demon. Kyuubi. He was afraid of facing his own darkness, becoming lost again in its' murky depths, lost to his own humanity... To his own loneliness.

One could fight enemies of all types. Bandits, criminal, nuke-nins, and even demons could be fought. But was it possible to truly fight one's loneliness? Could one rebel against it and succeed? Or would they inevitably become like Gaara, reduced to the role of a mere tool, a weapon of chaos and destruction capable of only loving one's self and set on killing anything that crossed their path, as if its' own existence was an insult to their own?

"Naruto..."

* * *

The crowd was still talking about the match between the Kazekage's son and the sole remaining member of one of Konohagakure's major clans. Genma knew it was time to continue on with the tournament. "Can Sabaku no Kankuro and Aburame Shino report to the fighting arena?" 

Shino began to make his way down to the arena when Kankuro's voice rang out frantically. "I FORFEIT!"

Shino's eyes narrowed behind his shades and the sound of angry buzzing could faintly be heard around him.

"Very well," acknowledged an annoyed Genma, "Winner, Aburame Shino! Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru, report to the fighting arena!"

* * *

Up in the competitor's box Nara Shikamaru sighed. He slowly raised his hand. "Proctor, I..." 

"SHIKAMARU DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" yelled not only Ino, but Sakura as well.

Shikamaru sighed again, "Troublesome..."

"I'LL SHOW YOU 'TROUBLESOME' IF YOU DON'T GET DOWN THERE **RIGHT NOW**!" shouted Ino.

"I'm on my way... No need to be so pushy..." said Shikamaru as he walked down to the fighting arena where Sakura was waiting for him.

"Shino and I are lucky," commented Kiba to Chouji.

"Why is that?" asked Chouji munching on his chips.

"Hinata is A LOT less scarier than either Ino or Sakura," he answered.

"Kiba," Ino said in a sweet voice, "YOU and Chouji-kun would happen to be talking about me would you?"

"NO!" shouted Kiba and Chouji in unison.

"Good," Ino smirked, boys were such simple creatures and so easy to control.

* * *

Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh again as he walked towards Sakura and the exam proctor. It was almost as if fate was conspiring against him. The Exams were doing absolutely nothing for his reputation, as thus far he had only proven himself effective against fighting girls. 

First had been Kin Tsuchi, the senbon throwing genjutsu wielder. Second had been the battle fan wielding, fuuton using Desert Rose, Sabaku no Temari. Now finally, it had come to this, his teammate's, Yamanaka Ino's, eternal rival, Haruno Sakura.

The irony wasn't lost on him that both girls he had to fight today had beaten both of his teammates. Temari had scored a nearly effortless victory against Chouji, and though it was a close hard fought match-up, Ino had been knocked out cold by a vicious uppercut from Sakura.

Kin's abilities had nearly been a complete mystery to him. The only thing he had known about her, was that she somehow utilized sound as a weapon, as her teammates Zaku and Dosu had. When his team had helped out Team 7, it was Zaku and Dosu who had done most of the fighting as Ino had taken out Kin early. The only thing that he was sure of was that in a straight out fight, Kin would have easily taken out both Ino and Sakura as her skills were a cut above theirs.

Sabaku no Temari on the other hand...

When compared to most all of the other females he had met during his short tenure as a Genin, they were all just girls playing kunoichi. Because they had spent so much time fawning over the Uchiha during their days at the academy both Ino and Sakura's skills were sub par, though Ino had her families' ninjutsu to fall back on, Sakura, unfortunately, did not. However, during the last month he had noticed both were working hard to remedy that problem, though it would be some time before that happened.

Hinata was competent enough, her skills were far above many of the boys in their class and she could easily have been the top kunoichi of their class, however her self-confidence was next to none. She lacked the fiery drive the kunoichi of both Teams 7 and 10 had in abundance. It didn't go unnoticed, at least by him, that it only took a few words of encouragement, from Naruto no less, that began the slow process of getting the girl to come out of her shell and step into her role as a kunoichi. In time, Hinata would be very formidable.

Ten-Ten was by far one of the most skilled and talented kunoichi Genin that Konoha had seen in some time, but even her self assured confidence was only an imitation of the deadly grace that seemed to roll off of Temari. However, Ten-Ten wasn't far off. She was serious about her role as a kunoichi and trained very hard. With teammates like Lee and Neji and a sensei like Maito Gai, she'd have to. She had everything the others lacked, she just wasn't on the same bar as Temari was, though in all honesty Sabaku no Temari was a high standard go compete with.

Temari was as deadly as she was troublesome, and she was troublesome even more than Ino. She had confidence in not only her skills, but in herself as well. She was good and she knew it. Furthermore, she went out of her way to show it, making sure EVERYONE knew just exactly who was the number one top dog. That superior smirk she held was just the tip of the iceberg, Shikamaru was sure of that.

* * *

Haruno Sakura was uncharacteristically nervous, though she couldn't place why. Perhaps it was the crowd, nerves taking hold at the last moment. No, it wasn't that, though it did give her a flutter knowing so many people were watching. Then she noticed Shikamaru casually making his way over towards her and the exam proctor. The nervous feeling only got worse as he approached. But why? She had faced far more dangerous shinobi than Shikamaru. 

Then it hit her. She hadn't. She may have encountered them, but not once had she actually engage them.

Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun had beaten the Onikyodai (Demon Brothers), and it was them and Naruto who had faced down Zabuza during their first encounter. Later on the bridge, it was Kakashi-sensei who had fought Zabuza alone while Naruto and Sasuke-kun had fought Haku. The Ame-nin in the Forest of Death had pretty much just fought Naruto. She had only come up with the plan and ambushed the last remaining one, before Sasuke-kun knocked him out.

Even later, when they had been attacked by the Oto-nins, she had Rock Lee and Ino's team back her up. They had been beaten, but then Lee's teammates had shown up and Sasuke-kun had regained consciousness and had begun dismantling them by himself. And Orochimaru...

Again, that had been all Naruto. The boy may have frozen up during their short skirmish with the Onikyodai, but he had been invaluable to the team sense then. Not even Sasuke could or even would, stand up against Orochimaru until after Naruto had knocked some sense into him. But even after Sasuke had come to his senses, Sakura had just stood around like a helpless little girl crying because her family, her boys, had gotten hurt so badly.

Sakura shook her head violently. She wasn't going to be that girl anymore. She would no longer be in their way, constantly needing protected. She would stand on her own, now was her time to shine. She looked back up at the competitor's box at her sensei and her rival/best friend. Then she noticed Naruto in the shadows of a far corner away from most of the crowd, his Jagan flashing brightly letting her know he was watching her match. He slightly nodded his head, which steeled her resolve.

It was her time now. Her time to show them all just how far she'd come. Ino, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and, in spirit, Sasuke-kun were all watching HER now. She'd be damned if she let them down. Smirking in a way very reminiscent of her rival, she let out a very Naruto-ish shout, "Let's get wild!"

"**SHANNARO!" **yelled out Inner Sakura in complete agreement.

* * *

Shikamaru studied Sakura's face and body language. She was nervous, fidgety. He couldn't imagine why, he was probablly the least dangerous of all of the opponents she could possibly face. The girl barely acknowledged his presence, seemingly deep in thought. 

A flicker of something crossed the aspiring kunoichi's face. He nearly missed it, but just barely caught a glimpse. He watched her carefully as she looked up towards where the other's were. He could see her resolve solidify, her confidence straighten. She was a much different kunoichi than the little girl who had fought Ino during the preliminaries and had definitely come a long way since she was the weak helpless kunoichi wannabe who did nothing but try to look pretty and fawn over the Uchiha.

The way she smirked, he almost mistook her far Ino, full of confidence and very self assured. He was completely caught off guard when she shouted, "Let's get wild!"

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but smirk at Sakura's proclamation. 

"The final match of the Chuunin Selection Exam Quarter Finals... Haruno Sakura vs Nara Shikamaru, FIGHT!" shouted Genma.

Shikamaru took a defensive stance as Sakura charged at him, her hands running through hand seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

One Sakura turned into four.

* * *

"What is she thinking!?" shouted Ino, "The same strategy won't work more than once!" 

"She is well aware of that Yamanaka-san," said Kakashi lazily, "Look underneath the underneath."

"Underneath the underneath? What?" asked Ino looking confusedly at Kakashi.

"Just watch," he said, not looking up from his book.

* * *

"That won't work Sakura," said Shikamaru activating his family jutsu. His shadow extending out towards her own. It was easy to pinpoint the real Sakura because she was the only one that left a shadow or kicked up any dirt as she charged. 

Seeing this, Sakura tossed four shuriken at the lazy Genin. Shikamaru hastily withdrew his shadow and pulled out a kunai, deflecting the shuriken. Much to his surprise the four Sakura's were right on top of him.

He blocked the strike from the first one, which passed harmlessly through him. Seeing as the first was an illusion, he slashed through the second one, only to find another fake. The third one brought her kunai down on him. Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the sharp, pointed blade come down on him, only to pass right through. The final Sakura came at Shika with a confident gleam in her eye. Shikamaru managed to side step her, only to watch her suddenly fade, much to his surprise.

"What!" gasped a shocked Shikamaru, when he felt a tight grip on his ankle. He looked down only to find the ground coming up at him until only his head was above the ground.

Sakura came up from the ground in front of him. "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique). You're finished Shikamaru."

"Kagemane, success..."said Shikamaru smirking at Sakura. Sakura tried to move, but found that she was incapable of doing so.

"W-What..." said Sakura, "How...?"

"If you train enough, anyone can use a jutsu without needed both or either hands," said Shikamaru.

"I may not be able to move, but neither can you," said Sakura, "You'll run out of chakra soon, either way, I win."

"Are you so sure?" asked Shikamaru. He closed his eyes and looked to be in deep concentration.

Suddenly Shikamaru's shadow ran up Sakura's body, the shadow arm snaking around her body and the hand gripping her throat, squeezing slightly.

"Proctor... I give up..." sighed Shikamaru, the shadow retreating, he was panting heavily.

"What... Why!?" demanded Sakura.

"I underestimated you and you capitalized on it, but then you underestimated me, leaving an opening for me to beat you," said Shikamaru from his earthen prison. "I merely showed you that even when an enemy is down, they aren't necessarily out."

"But you still could have won!"

"What good would it have done me?" said Shikamaru, "I'm almost out of chakra, I would have been in no condition to fight Shino, whereas you only used two low ranked jutsu. Even with your limited chakra reserves, you have plenty of chakra left and is more capable of fighting Shino than I am."

"The winner of this match... Haruno Sakura!" said Genma. 'He may not have the skills or the power of some of the other contestants, but he is still far beyond many of his peers.' thought Genma as he pulled out Shikamaru.

* * *

Sakura went up to the stands where the others were waiting, looking very dejected despite her victory. 

"You know Sakura, you did very well," praised Kakashi.

"Th-thanks..." she said, not truly believing her sensei.

"He's right Sakura-chan," said Naruto, "You were awesome! That match could have gone either way, so don't let it bother you. You've been training hard and it shows. I almost didn't see you create another bunshin as you went below the ground with that jutsu Kakashi-sensei used on Sasuke-teme! You may not be as powerful as me, or as skilled as the teme yet, but you're getting there and until then, I know I don't want anyone else watching my back and I don't think Sasuke does either. We were all put on Team 7 for a reason, no matter what you think or who says otherwise, WE need you."

Sakura gave him a small smile. "Arigato, Naruto... Y-you know just what to say sometimes, don't you."

"I meant all of it," said Naruto.

"I know..." Sakura agreed, "Thanks..."

"There will be a 20 minute intermission before the semi-finals begin. The first match will be Kazama Naruto vs Sabaku no Gaara, followed shortly by Aburame Shino vs Haruno Sakura!" announced Genma to the stadium.

Naruto paled at the proclamation.

"Naruto...?" asked a concerned Sakura.

"I-I-I'm fine, S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto stuttered as he walked towards the railing away from everyone.

Sakura turned to Kakashi questioningly. "I-Is Naruto... Is he alright?"

Kakashi sighed. "He will be. Gaara's match against Sasuke really shook him up. Sasuke has always been the stick that he's measured himself by. Naruto would always judge his strength and his skills based on how they compared to Sasuke's. Now that Gaara has beaten Sasuke, Naruto is unsure if he can compare to the force of nature that is Sabaku no Gaara. Their shared past isn't helping matters."

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi sighed, "Their shared status as Jinchuuriki have left Naruto and Gaara to lead harsh lifestyles full of darkness, loneliness and hatred and very little purpose. The both of them struggled with their inner demons, and I don't mean the bijuu they contain, for most of their lives. Where Naruto found acceptance, Gaara did not. He believes Gaara to be the stronger of the two of them because he believes that because you, Sasuke and Haku and a few others accepted him for who, and not what, he is that his strength comes from you as well. And to a certain extent, he is correct, but he doesn't believe he can stand on his own. Not against a force like Gaara, who has not only dwelled within the darkness Naruto narrowly escaped, but has thrived in it, finding his purpose in spilling blood and causing destruction, fear and eventually death to all around him."

Sakura looked worriedly at Naruto, "Naruto..." she whispered.

"He doesn't believe he'll survive this fight..." added Kakashi. Sakura gasped, "And as he is now... He will die."

"How can you say that?" hissed Sakura angrily.

"Because he is right, Sakura-san," interjected Gai, "So long as Naruto-kun believes that he can not possibly defeat Gaara, he will not win. In Naruto's own mind, the fight is already lost. All you can do is support your teammate and hope he becomes his youthful self before it's too late."

"But..."

"Sakura, Naruto will pull through," Kakashi assured her, "It may be deep down, but there is still some fight in him."

Sakura looked at Naruto again before joining Ino and the others, who seemed to be giving Naruto his space.

"Rival Kakashi, do you really think that Naruto will pull himself together for his next match?" asked Gai.

Kakashi was silent for a moment watching Naruto, "If it was anyone else... No, but Kazama Naruto is Konoha's number one, most surprising, knuckle headed ninja, with big dreams and an even bigger heart."

"Will Kazama Naruto of Konohagakure no Sato and Sabaku no Gaara of Sunagakure no Sato please report to the fighting arena for the Chuunin Selection Exam Semi-Finals," asked Genma as the 20 minute intermission came to a close.

Naruto looked over at Gaara, whose crazed look only become more and more psychotic, craving more and more blood as the time passed. Closing all three eyes, Naruto began his walk to the fighting arena in trepidation.

* * *

_A/N: Well everyone that's it for Chapter 11 of UKG: The Jagan!_

_Stay tuned for Chapter 12: A Tail of Two Bijuu, The Invasion Begins!_

_Overall, I wasn't too satisfied with how the chapter turned out, but I didn't want to rush towards the Gaara/Naruto fight. Tell me what you all thought about this chapter._

_Before anyone says anything, Canon!Naruto was very afraid of Gaara. Having the Jagan will not change that, especially since Gaara has beaten Sasuke. So expect Naruto to get quite the thrashing before he finally pulls himself together._

_Hopefully, the next chapter comes out sooner than this last one._

_Watch out for both of the next chapters of UKG: The Jagan and UE: Weapon-X! _


	12. A Tail of Two Bijuu, The Invasion Begins

_A/N: A few people have commented that the fic follows too closely to Canon. In all actuality, the events outside of the Wave Arc that had been going on with the other characters were not adversely affected like Haku and Team 7 were, so mostly the changes were in Team 7's personalities and Haku's lack of death._

_I've been trying to progressively diverge as time goes on, but from here on, things should speed up a bit. I went a different route then most with the Gaara/Naruto match, so I hope it's up to standards. Now, to address the other 'issues' others had..._

**Pickle-Kitten:**_ Thanks for the review, and for giving me your honest opinion on the ships and your reasoning behind them. I'll take everything into consideration, but no promises yet. The ships for this fic will be announced AFTER the Timeskip._

**CultKagome and Sesshomaru:**_ Though I'm sure I've answered this before, I'll indulge you a bit. Yes, Sasuke will defect to Oto, similar reasoning, yet different all at the same time. For the time being only the Jagan and many of Hiei's techniques will be the only things coming from YYH. When I first started this, Genkai was not even considered to be in the fic (though other sensei types from other animes were). Yusuke was mentioned, but it is doubtful at this point in time that he'll make an appearance. Same also applies for Kurama as well, but in the future who knows?_

**Blackmasked Angel:** _I tried to be as descriptive as possible with the match, but figured it would be best to give the audience a general description and let their own imaginations fill in the rest._

**WhiteWolfKing:**_ When I began this fic, the Yondaime had no name. As I stated in Chapter 1 of Ultimate Experiment: 'Weapon-X', Yondaime will stay Kazama Arashi for this fic. I MAY go back and change it upon completion, but it's very doubtful. Namikaze Minato is of course being used as Yondaime's name in UE: Weap-X._

**Nawaki no Shinobi:**_If you remember correctly, Naruto actually was afraid of facing Gaara. This chapter is my take on the whole matter._

_Anyways, that's all for now! So now, for the rest or the story...

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve: A Tail of Two Bijuu, The Invasion Begins..._

* * *

_**Two shinobi made their way to the fighting arena.

One in trepidation...

Kazama Naruto.

The other with anticipation...

Sabaku no Gaara.

The former had defeated perhaps the greatest prodigy in the esteemed "first" clan of Konohagakure no Sato.

Hyuuga Neji.

Not to mention one of the best Taijutsu Specialists Konoha had ever produced since Maito Gai.

Rock Lee.

The later had beaten the last scion of an equally prestigious, but dwindling, noble clan as the previously mentioned 'noble' Konoha shinobi. Making him submit in front of all of his zealous supporters.

Uchiha Sasuke.

They shared the same fate. Destiny had conspired that their paths would cross. Both saddled with a burden they neither wanted nor needed. Hated by many, cherished by so few.

Monster. Demon. Jinchuuriki...

One was eventually accepted. Saved from his own darkness, making it his goal to protect those he held precious at all costs.

"Yes, you're right... a _demon_ would do that... But he is not the Kyuubi no Yokou, but Uzumaki Naruto, a shinobi of Konoha!"

"Don't touch Iruka-sensei... or I'll kill you!"

The other was cast down. Left alone to face his demons alone, his goal in life to eradicate all others to prove that only the strong deserved to live. To prove that love was but a mere illusion, becoming the monster the citizens of Sunagakure no Sato had believed him to be since the moment of his birth.

"I stole my mother's life and was created to become the village's masterpeice."

"Kazama... When I have finished with the Uchiha... I will kill you."

One was created from a sacrifice of love and dedication, from the need to protect.

"I am sorry... My son..."

The other, out of ambition and greed, from the need of power and status. Born out of hatred and malice.

"No one has ever truly loved you. Not even I, no matter how much I tried... This is it... Please... Die!"

One looked into the darkness, in fear, intimidated by the resurfacing feelings long forgotten.

The other stared into the light, in contempt, jealousy and hatred festering as others received the love he had been long denied.

The two combatants stood in the middle of the arena motionlessly.

Naruto was trembling slightly, his right arm twitching in anticipation as jolts of black energy shoot up his arm.

Gaara was looking rather apathetic, but the eager gleam in his eye was unmistakable. His sanity was barely contained.

* * *

"Hokage-dono, this should prove to be a most interesting match," commented the Kazekage, "After all, both combatants have defeated two members of your most prestigious clans. The winner of this match could easily decided the winner of the whole tournament." 

"Don't count out Aburame-kun and Haruno-chan just yet, Kazekage-dono," said Sarutobi, "I agree that Gaara-kun and Naruto-kun are easily the most powerful Genin left in the tournament, but if I know Naruto, win or lose, he will do his best to push Gaara past his limits. The both of them may not be even able to press on past this match making the Aburame/Haruno match the final match deciding the Tournament."

The Kazekage chuckled, "Trust me, I don't foresee such an anti-climatic ending to such an explosive tournament."

"Know something I don't, Kazekage-dono?" asked Sarutobi.

"Much," chuckled the Kazekage, Sarutobi did as well as they continued to watch the match.

* * *

"I hope you all said your goodbyes," commented Sabaku no Kankuro. "The gaki won't survive his match." 

"You shouldn't underestimate Naruto, he's Konoha's most surprising shinobi with good reason," said Kakashi.

"His funeral... Literally," said Kankuro.

"How can you say that so... Casually?" asked Sakura.

"Because we know Gaara... It's not often, but more than I'd like, that I see THAT look in his eye," said Temari. "Nothing lives for very long when he's like this. He's barely kept the bloodlust contained the whole last month... I'm surprised he was able to contain it after fighting the Uchiha, as he'd actually managed to not only get past Gaara's Suna no Tate (Shield of Sand), but his Suna no Yoroi (Armor of Sand) as well, even going so far to make Gaara bleed. In retribution for the Uchiha being allowed to live, Shukaku will not allow Kazama to continue to survive much longer, especially with what Kazama-san is, it's the perfect way for Shukaku, through Gaara, to assert his dominance."

"What do you mean?" asked Ten-Ten.

Sakura's eyes widened as she paled.

"You don't know..." asked Temari. "You mean... How...?"

"The Yondaime was the best Seal Master in all of the Elemental Countries, Naruto's seal is far more intricate and complex that Gaara's," commented Kakashi. "Any more information than that is classified."

"Gai-sensei... What are they talking about?" asked Ten-Ten.

Chouji and Kiba looked just as puzzled. Shino's eyebrows furrowed in thought, as Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit.

"Kami! You can't mean...!" Ino gasped, realizing- at least in part- what they were talking about. It explained the two presences she felt when she was focused on Gaara, as well as the complete change in the feel of Naruto's chakra when it mysteriously changed colors, as well as why Naruto had two different colored chakras in the first place. "What was done to them!?"

"Gomensai, Yamanaka-san..." commented Kakashi as he pulled up his hitai-ite, revealing his Sharingan.

Ino looked into Kakashi's spinning Sharingan and promptly passed out.

"Kakashi-sensei, what did you do to Ino?" asked Sakura.

"Just a simple genjutsu," he lazily commented pulling down his hitai-ite. "She was becoming hysterical, but she should be fine when she wakes up. Akimichi-san, could you and Inzuka-san take Yamanaka to the infirmary. Before you two go... Do NOT under any circumstances, mention ANY of what just transpired just now to Naruto. He has enough to deal with without episodes like this." He glared as each of them to make sure they all got the message. "Also, do not press him for answers. He will tell each of you in his own time. It's a sensitive topic and his is not one to quickly to open up to anyone about it unless absolutely necessary. Is that understood."

They all quailed under his glare and answered affirmatively. He then rounded on Temari and Kankuro as the other Kiba and Chouji left with Ino. "I would appreciate it if you no longer discussed Gaara and Naruto's... Conditions... As they aren't widely known to many below the age of Twenty."

The glare he gave them left no room from arguing. He wasn't the famous Copy-nin for nothing, the man said to have learned and mastered over 1,000 jutsu and #1 Jounin of Konohagakure no Sato.

"H-Hai..." stuttered Kankuro, while Temari nodded.

Gai then muttered to Kakashi, "It appears some of our most Youthful students are now aware of Naruto's condition, at least in part. It may be best if we revealed it to them."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, that will be up to Naruto to reveal when he feels it is time."

"They may not like the fact that Naruto kept something like this from them," said Gai.

"If they're truly his friends, they'll understand not only about his tenant, but also for not revealing it to them sooner," said Kakashi, "I'll have a chat with Naruto about it after the finals."

* * *

"The semi-finals match between Kazama Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara will now begin!" shouted Genma, "Fight!" 

He quickly jumped out of the way, but neither competitor moved against one another. Gaara's face went from being apathetic to that of a slightly crazed smirk. Naruto tensed as sand started pouring from Gaara's gourd. "Make me feel... ALIVE!"

As he shouted this, streams of sand shot out at Naruto.

"Naruto! Look out!" shouted Sakura.

Naruto's Jagan started to glow dimly, and he avoided the first two streams and dematerialized when the third one almost impaled him through the stomach, only to re-materialize on top of it, and started running at Gaara. A fourth stream of sand shot at Naruto, who countered with a kenjutsu attack. "Jougen Yaiba Sen!"

The purplish blue beam of chakra sliced the tendril in half. Naruto then started to drag the tip of the Shikon no Ruujin behind him.

The tendril of sand beneath him then collapsed in a heap of sand, causing him to become off balanced. Another tendril of sand shot at Naruto and he narrowly evaded it only to be hit square in the chest by a follow up one.

He was sent crashing into the arena wall, dropping his sword on impact.

"Kuso..." he cursed.

"Kazama! Die!" shouted Gaara as the sand came back to him, swirling around before forming a much larger column of sand that was sent careening towards Naruto. Naruto glared at Gaara while holding onto his ribs. His Jagan began to glow brightly and he jumped high into the air at the sand column crashed into the wall.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" shouted Naruto as he descended on Gaara, his whole right arm ablaze. Before he could get close, however, a tendril of sand whipped out and struck Naruto from the side, batting him away from Gaara.

"I... I can't do it..." Naruto whispered hopelessly to himself. 'Is this my limit...?' He tried to stand, but fell to one knee holding onto his ribs. "Kuso..."

"Naruto, get up!" shouted Sakura pleadingly.

Gaara, meanwhile, let out a roaring laugh. "Is this all the great Kazama line has to offer? Is that the best you can do?" he taunted Naruto, "You're almost not worth killing." Another tendril of sand shot out at Naruto. He moved to dodge, but was still clipped in the side. Another tendril followed up and Naruto was struck directly, his body was slammed unmercifully against the wall.

Naruto gasped to catch his breath, spitting out blood as he coughed.

"Pathetic. Weak." taunted Gaara. "Where is that great power I felt? Where is that bloodlust, that fury. I want to feel alive! I want to give mother a worthy sacrifice!"

Pain shot up through Naruto's right arm. When he gripped it, he felt the seals warming up. He watched a black tendril shoot through his arm.

'As I am now... I can't beat him...' thought Naruto, 'Unless...' he looked at his arm. 'Gomensai... Gaara...'

Naruto slowly stood up.

* * *

"C'mon Naruto!" cheered Sakura. 

Ten-Ten's eyes widened when she saw what Naruto had planned. She gasped when he ripped off a seal and then another. "Naruto, stop!"

"Ten-Ten?" asked Sakura.

"Remember that jutsu Naruto used in the forest?" asked Ten-Ten.

"H-How could I forget?" Sakura responded.

"Naruto's arm still isn't fully recovered from it, if he uses it again, at best, he'll lose the ability to ever use that arm again," said Ten-Ten, "More than likely though, he'll lose the arm completely... Or... He'll die..."

Sakura was horrified at the news. And only became more horrified as Naruto ripped off a couple more seals.

* * *

Gaara was having none of that. Already tendrils of sand were being launched at Naruto, preventing him from ripping off anymore seals off of his bandages. 

"Why don't you fight back?" asked Gaara. "Have you truly reached your limit?"

'KUSO! At least Sasuke was able to land a hit on this guy... I haven't been able to do anything against him...' thought Naruto angrily. Naruto's arm twitched again as pain shot up his arm. 'The dragon is becoming more and more impatient... I am no where near ready to use it again...'

Gaara then smirked. "I know you're powerful. But you lack motivation."

Tendrils of sand swirled around Gaara, he then looked up at the competitors box where Sakura and Ten-Ten were standing.

"I-I've got a bad feeling a-about this..." said Sakura.

"Suna Shuriken (Sand Shuriken)!" shouted Gaara. Both Sakura and Tenten's eyes widened at the oncoming attack, it was unexpected and both were rooted in place. Fortunately for them, Gai and Kakashi saved their respective students.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Your fight is with me, Teme!" shouted Naruto at Gaara.

"Motivating you," answered Gaara with a sick smile.

"You're powerful... I can feel it... Yet, you do not fight me like you do the others," said Gaara, "I can smell it, your fear. What is it that you're afraid of?"

"N-Nothing!" shouted Naruto defiantly, "I'm not afraid of anything!"

"You lie!" said Gaara, "And I hate liars. What is it Kazama... What is it about me that you fear so much? Is it my strength, my power? No, you could match it if you wanted to..."

Naruto grit his teeth. The Jagan flared and in a blur of motion he charged Gaara, but was swatted away by a tendril of sand. Naruto went tumbling, but threw out his arm and flipped to steady himself.

"Fear, desparation... Strange... You are like me... Yet different somehow..." Gaara noted.

"I'm nothing like you!" shouted Naruto.

Gaara merely smirked. "Is that so... Is that your fear... Then... I WILL KILL YOU!" Gaara began to laugh hysterically. A tendril of sand shot out at Naruto, who hastily dodged it only to be slammed back against the wall be a second tendril. "Then once you're dead... I shall kill each of the others, one by one. Mother will bathe in their blood!"

"N-no... I-I won't let you!" shouted Naruto, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Then stop me," said Gaara. "Fight me... Unleash the demon inside of you!"

Many around the arena froze at that statement. The collective audience seemed to hold in their breath.

"No..." whispered Naruto shakily.

Gaara raised an eyebrow, "Speak up, Kazama... I didn't quite hear you."

"NO!" shouted Naruto, "I'm nothing like you! No matter how much I wanted to... No matter how much I hated them, no matter how much I wanted someone to acknowledge me... I never gave in... Not once! I have precious people now... People who saved me from my darkness... People who accepted me for WHO I am, not WHAT I am... Sakura-chan up there... One of the people you tried to hurt... She... She accepted me, was willing to be my friend because she saw ME not the DEMON all these other people claimed I was! And Sasuke-teme... He did too! I... I won't let you harm them... B-But... I won't become you... I won't become a monster because that's what everyone else sees me as... Because... Because I am Kazama Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, and if you even think of harming anymore of my precious people... I WILL KILL YOU!"

Naruto had gradually been gaining strength as his speech went on, and by the end the Jagan was blazing a bright teal color and his azure blue eyes had become slightly slitted. When he shouted the last part, he vanished.

Gaara's eyes widened in fear as he could no longer keep track of Naruto's movements.

Naruto's bandaged fist rematerialized inches in front of Gaara's face only to be blocked by a wall of Sand. Naruto used the momentum of he recoiling fist to do a spinning kick to Gaara's head, much like Sasuke had before.

"His movements are similar to Sasuke's, but they lack speed, the practiced grace of the Uchiha and the devastating power of my Lee," observed Gai.

"Taijutsu has never been a strong point of Naruto's," said Kakashi, "While it has gotten better, he would probablly do much better under your tutelage, as Naruto's ninjutsu is quite strong, and Jiraiya-sama and myself each have a plan on what Naruto should learn next. He has already proved himself ready to learn it."

"You don't mean... THAT jutsu...?" asked Gai.

"Of course," said Kakashi, "You can't deny he isn't ready for it, even more so than Sasuke with the Chidori and Lee with the Hachimon."

Naruto jumped back realizing Taijutsu would not work against Gaara. He quickly realized that both Sasuke and Lee had an advantage in that particular field over him. However, he still had his sword. He then back flipped to where he first his the wall and picked up his sword.

"Let's see how you take this!" shouted Naruto as he channeled chakra through the Shikon no Ruujin. He charged Gaara who sent more sand at Naruto. Naruto sliced the first column in half and jumped out of the way of the second one, onto a third one and resumed his charge.

* * *

"I-impossible... He's completely changed..." stuttered Temari fearing the worst for her brother. 

"Because he's Kazama Naruto, and he doesn't know how to lose," said Sakura with a smirk.

* * *

Naruto jumped onto a fourth tendril and then back onto the third as a fifth one lashed out at him. His blade sliced right through it, and Gaara's eyes became more and more desperate to draw more of Naruto's blood. 

Seeing Naruto coming closer and closer, Gaara formed the orb cocoon around his body as Naruto stabbed at him. The orb, this time, was bigger to try and stop the incoming sword.

"I've seen this trick already... But I've got something new!" shouted Naruto as he began releasing a few more seals from the bandages on his right arm which was gripped tightly on his sword. Naruto winced in pain as each on came off. Black lightning charged up through his arm and down the length of the blade.

* * *

"Naruto's not... That move could hurt him!" shouted Sakura. "The Myou Enkou no Doragon crippled him last time!" 

"No... Look at what Naruto is doing... This attack is similar, but not the same... He's not channeling the Darkness Flame into his arm this time," observed Kakashi. "Watch."

* * *

Naruto's Jagan was glowing brightly as Naruto shouted out. "Kenjutsu: Myou Enkou no Ken (Sword Art: Sword of the Darkness Flame)!" 

Pure chakra surged down Naruto's arm and into the Shikon no Ruujin. They could all feel the power behind the attack.

The exposed part of the blade was engulfed in purplish black flames, and Naruto slashed the blade upwards, freeing it completely.

The sword was completely ablaze with the Darkness Flame.

"No... No way! An attack like that..." said Ten-Ten astonishedly.

Naruto then slashed at the orb trying to get to Gaara when it exploded.

His new technique was cancelled as he released his blade. As the dust settled, Naruto stood up to see Gaara half engulfed in his own sand.

"You are definitely a worthy opponent, Kazama!" said Gaara in a crazed rage. "It will be with you, that my existence will be proven!"

"Bring it on! I'll show you what it truly means to be strong!" challenged Naruto.

* * *

Off in the distance, Haku smiled. 'Finally, you will become strong Naruto-kun, now that you finally understand...' 

He then leapt off into the distance, as he had only stopped for a moment to check on Naruto's match.

Haku looked back once more, 'Protect your precious people, Naruto-kun...'

* * *

"I am what it means to be strong!" shouted Gaara. "My strength is my own! You are nothing compared to me!" 

"I thought so too..." admitted Naruto, "Because we're so much alike... It blinded me to my own power... I saw how strong you had become on your own, as you were lost in your own darkness... I forgot my own strength and everything I gained. I thought to be as strong as you, I'd have to become you. To beat a monster, I had to become a bigger monster, but then I realized... I'm already stronger than you."

Naruto looked at the crowd. "While many of these people hated me for something I had no control over, like the people of Suna hated you... I had people who accepted me... But who accepted you? Who didn't look at you with fear or hatred? Who saw beyond the demon at the boy underneath, crying out for someone, anyone, to love him like anyone else?"

"First was Hokage-ojiisan. It was because of him that I that I dreamed of winning people's respect by becoming Hokage. Then Ichiraku-Ojiisan and Ayame-chan gave me more hope that people might actually see me one day. But it was Iruka-sensei, one of the people who had the most reason to hate me, that had accepted me. It was then that I was saved from my darkness. Then came along Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, Haku, Konohamaru and his friends. I've become friends with Ten-Ten and I have Ero-Sennin, and Hayate-sensei and even Genkai-oban. But who... Who do you have?"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Gaara enraged. Gaara launched himself at Naruto who jumped over the Suna Genin and fellow Jinchuuriki, using the boy's head as a springboard. Gaara's sand made fist crashed into the wall.

"It's not too late," said Naruto, "Fight it..."

Gaara's uncovered hand went to his head. "N-No... NO! I MUST KILL YOU!"

Gaara sent the sand arm at Naruto, who dodge by jumping up and slashing it in half.

"Do you know what the true difference between us, Gaara?" asked Naruto, who watched as the sand reformed Gaara's arm and continued to form a leg around Gaara's right one. "You are the demon."

For a moment, Naruto saw the look of betrayal in Gaara's eyes.

"You are the demon because you give in too easily," added Naruto, "You let it control you. Fight the demon, protect those who you might find precious one day..."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Gaara whose hand was clutching his chest. He then launched into the air, his sand covered arm cocked back. Naruto back flipped out of the way as Gaara's fist created a large crater. "I have none precious to me except Mother... She... She calls for YOUR BLOOD!"

Gaara lunged at Naruto who continued to dodge as Gaara made yet another hole in the stadium wall.

"FIGHT BACK!" demanded Gaara as he swung his fist at Naruto who jumped back.

"Let me, be your friend... Let me be your first precious person," said Naruto as Gaara's lumbering fist. The sand had covered Gaara almost completely except the boy's left arm, shoulder and face.

"DIE!" shouted Gaara as the second arm formed. It struck Naruto in the midsection slamming him into the wall.

"NARUTO!" shouted Ten-Ten and Sakura.

Gaara cocked back his sandy right fist and slammed it into Naruto's ribs.

"FIGHT BACK!" shouted Gaara as his left slammed into Naruto again.

Naruto coughed up a large amount of blood. "Only if you start..." Naruto's sentence was cut off when Gaara's right fist slammed into him.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?" yelled Sakura in tears, "He's just letting Gaara pound him!" 

It was taking Kakashi's full restraint to not interfere himself. "He's proving a point."

"WHY?" demanded Sakura.

"Because while Gaara-san and Naruto are very different, they are still very much the same," said Gai. "Naruto-kun believes, that like himself, Gaara can be saved as well, so he's going to do everything within his power to do so. Even at the cost of his own life."

"You mean..." said Ten-Ten wide eyed.

"Yes... If need be, Naruto will die for Gaara," said Kakashi.

"That's insane!" shouted Temari, "Why would he do that!?"

"Because Naruto understands Gaara. He understands the constraints of being a Jinchuuriki and everything that comes along with it," said Kakashi, "Whether he realizes it or not, he's different from all others, Shinobi and Jinchuuriki alike. What seems so simple to him, is unfathomable to others. In truth, Naruto is a horrible shinobi. However, when the time comes, what makes him a horrible shinobi, will make him the perfect Hokage."

* * *

"I'll fight back... If you start fighting back..." gasped Naruto. 

Gaara then grabbed Naruto and flung him across the stadium. Naruto bounced bonelessly off the ground, landing in a disgruntled heap.

Naruto slowly rose, grabbing his ribs as sand had fully engulfed the Suna Jinchuuriki.

"Go ahead... Kill me..." said Naruto smirking.

"**With pleasure**..." said Shukaku Gaara.

"But you'll prove nothing..." said Naruto, "Kill me now, prove to everyone you're just a monster. Sure you killed a strong opponent, one who was even stronger than you. But all you really proved is that you are nothing more than a monster who kills defenseless children. You're not proving your existence... Your proving the demon's."

"**SHUT UP**!" shouted Shukaku Gaara. He then backhanded Naruto across the stadium.

"Before... I die... Answer me..." panted Naruto. "Which are you? Are you Shukaku the Sand Demon? Or are you Sabaku no Gaara? Kill me, become the demon you despise even more than those villagers... Or fight the demon and gain a precious person, someone who understands what it's like to both be alone and feared and hated by everyone..."

Shukaku Gaara lifted his arm into the air. "**I am... I am...**"

The sand began to break apart. "**I am... Sab**aku no Gaara... Proctor... I concede..."

"G-Good... I wasn't ready to die yet... I haven't become Hokage yet..." said Naruto as he collapsed. He was caught by a tendril of sand. "Arigato... Gaara..."

"No... Arigato... Kazama Naruto..." said Gaara quietly.

'Wow... He's even got me believing he'll be Hokage,' thought Genma, 'Still... Amazing...'

"The winner of the Semi-Finals match between Kazama Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara... Kazama Naruto!" The entire stadium literally exploded in applause. The sound was loud enough to startle both of the competitors.

"Gaara... Do you hear that..." said Naruto, "It's... It's just the beginning... Just remember, no matter how dark it gets... You're not lost as long as there's just a flicker of light left..."

Gaara looked around wide eyed as the audience roared in approval.

"This... This is for us... Let's show them... Show them all, we're not demons..." said Naruto as he began to stand on his own power. Naruto the stuck his hand out to Gaara. Gaara looked at if confusedly. "Shake it."

Gaara hesitantly took Naruto's hand. The applause of the audience only got louder.

* * *

"THAT is Naruto's special ability," said Kakashi with pride, "A power that not even his father had. In a single match, Naruto not only changed Gaara, but the perceptions of many around him. Not for his own sake, but Gaara's too, as well as helped your brother fight his own demon." 

Kankuro looked to be in shock at what had happened as Temari discreetly wiped a tear from her eye. 'Finally... Finally I have my otouto back... Arigato... Kazama Naruto...'

* * *

It wasn't long when feathers began to descend upon the unsuspecting cheering fans. An eerie silence began to fill the arena. 

"Kazama Naruto... Your village is in danger..." said Gaara emotionlessly.

"Yeah, I got that from the Genjutsu..." said Naruto sarcastically.

"For what you have done for me... I will aid you..." said Gaara.

Suddenly, there was an explosion in the Hokage's box.

"OJII-SAN!" shouted Naruto as he moved to where the Hokage was facing off with the familiar Orochimaru. The wounds inflicted on him by Gaara prevented him from actually doing so. "Kuso..."

"Rest, I shall take care of everything..." Gaara told him.

"LIKE HELL! KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" shouted Naruto as several Suna and Oto-nin landed in the Arena. Before they could attack, the Toad Naruto summoned lashed out his tongue and Gaara's sand started spilling out of his gourd. "Gamamusha (Toad Warrior), we need to get to the Hokage now!"

* * *

_A/N: I was going to continue this chapter farther, but I figured this was fine as it was. Incredibly short, I know, but the next chapter will be MUCH longer, that's a promise of a lifetime! Believe it!_


	13. Birth of a Hero, Embodiment of the Will

A/N: Not quite as long as I wanted, but definitely a great chapter!

**AznPuffyHair: **Sorry no One Thousand Years of Death in this chapter, however, I did create an awesome unique moment you should enjoy. Though I do agree, it was a great moment.

**Zarunak:** While it may have been 'cheesy', you still like it. BEHOLD! The power of cheese!

**yoruleiscool:** I suppose I could, however, it won't happen until after this fic is complete.

**Archangel630:** The Yondaime lacked any definite real name when I first started this fic. As such, I used the ever popular fanfic name Kazama Arashi. Since I already had gone with this name, I will finish out the story with it. In future works (i.e. Weapon-X and Rei Shinobi), I will use Namikaze Minato.

And now for the rest of the story...

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen:** Birth of a Hero, Embodiment of the Will of Fire

* * *

Suddenly, there was an explosion in the Hokage's box. 

"OJII-SAN!" shouted Naruto as he moved to where the Hokage was facing off with the familiar form of Orochimaru. The wounds inflicted on him by Gaara prevented him from actually doing so. "Kuso..."

"Rest, I shall take care of everything..." Gaara told him.

"LIKE HELL! KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" shouted Naruto as several Suna and Oto-nin landed in the Arena. Before they could attack, the Toad Naruto summoned lashed out his tongue and Gaara's sand started spilling out of his gourd. "Gamamusha (Toad Warrior), we need to get to the Hokage now!"

"Hai!" responded Gamamusha, "Hop on!" He flicked out is tongue and grabbed Naruto's sword from where he dropped it

Naruto did so and took the sword from his summon and then turned to Gaara.

"Coming?"

"I'll hold off any pursuers, Kazama, go," said Gaara calmly, but Naruto could tell he was eager to fight as Sand spilled from the gourd on his back.

"Musha, you heard him!" shouted Naruto and the massive frog leapt into the air.

Several shinobi jumped down into the arena at that point only to be knocked away by Gaara's sand. Many, Naruto noticed, had Oto hitai-ite as well as Suna ones. Naruto would have to ask Gaara about that later. For now, it just wasn't important. At least to him anyways.

Moments after Naruto had left, both Temari and Kankuro approached Gaara hesitantly.

"Gaara, what the hell are you doing?" asked Kankuro, "This wasn't the plan!"

"Plans change," said Gaara coldly, "Do not interfere... Or I will kill you!"

Both of Gaara's siblings quailed in fear under his cold gaze.

* * *

Half way across town, the Academy students were being evacuated into the tunnels below the Hokage Monument. However, the students were very unaware of the fact they were being evacuated. 

"Kuso... Too bad Iruka-sensei had to find us... I really wanted to watch Boss fight!" complained Konohamaru.

"How do you think he's gonna do?" asked Udon.

"You're kidding right?" asked Konohamaru incredulously, "He's gonna kick all of their asses because he's the Boss!"

"Konohamaru, mind your language!" scolded Iruka.

"Gomen, Iruka-sensei..." The Hokage's grandson muttered.

"Konohamaru-kun is right, there is no way Naruto-nii-chan could possibly lose!" exclaimed Moegi.

Konohamaru grinned at Moegi, who blushed in embarassment. When Iruka caught it, he couldn't help but be reminded of his former student and wondered, much like his current students, how Naruto was fairing.

Suddenly he was distracted by the sound of cracking stone. The face of the Sandaime Hokage had become cracked down the center of his face.

* * *

Sarutobi had watched as his guards were easily taken out and driven back to a nearby roof by his former prized student. 

"Sensei, it ends here," said Orochimaru confidently, "Konoha will fall and your legacy will burn to the ground."

"You never did understand did you Orochimaru?" asked Sarutobi, "For as brilliant and as talented as you were, you never saw what was right in front of you. The Will of Fire burns brightly in each Konoha-nin, as long as a breathe remains in one of them, Konoha will never truly fall. Even if you strike me down, the Will of Fire will live on. Arashi understood this better than anyone, which is why I chose him to become my successor over you or anyone else."

"Hollow meaningless words," scoffed Orochimaru, "But know this, the 'Will of Fire' will be extinguished upon your death. Of that I'll make certain. So cling to whatever hope you have, as it is all you have left."

"Tell me Orochimaru, how is it that your arm is restored?" asked Sarutobi. "From the report given to me by both Anko and Team 7, you should have been irreparably crippled."

"A brilliant combination of Tsunade-hime's ijustu (Healing Technique), Jiraiya-baka's fuinjutsu (Seal Technique), and my own genius if I do say so myself," said a grinning Orochimaru, "However, we were not discussing my brilliance, but our own dance of death and Konoha's ultimate destruction."

"I made a mistake when I let you go all those years ago, Orochimaru," said Sarutobi, "I will rectify that now."

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" shouted the leader of the ANBU squad. He had on a white robe vice the black ones the others wore. 

"We have to help him," said another.

"No, that barrier will incinerate anything that comes in contact with it," said the leader.

There was a booming impact nearby. The squad turned to the source and saw a very familiar sight that gave them all flashes of deja vu. What they saw was a very determined Naruto, Jagan blazing a bright teal color, while sitting atop of a massive Gama Summon. They could help but think about how much like the Yondaime he looked just then.

"We've got to help Ojii-san!" he shouted.

"We can't get through the barrier," said the leader, "Anything that touches it will be incinerated, observe."

The ANBU flicked a shuriken into his hand and threw it at the barrier. They all watched was it disintegrated into nothingness.

Naruto shouted, "We can't just leave him in there!"

"He's the Hokage with good reason, Kazama," scolded the ANBU captain, "He'll be able to take care of himself. We'll have to wait until the battle concludes, one way or the other."

Naruto growled, "You might be fine with just doing nothing, but I'm going in there!"

Naruto then began channeling his chakra, and then cycling through handseals. "Goukaton: Inochi Kaenhoushaki!"

Naruto thrust his hands forward, a stream of black and orange fire striking the barrier to no avail. Naruto growled in frustration as the only evidence of his attack was that the spot he attacked was smoking. "Kuso...! Goukaton: Inochi Kaenhoushaki!"

He repeated his previous actions with the same effect.

"I applaud your determination, but there are few jutsu that could actually penetrate or get around that barrier," said the ANBU captain, "It's one of the strongest containment jutsus in existence, the fact that the four of them can maintain two simultaneously says a lot about their skill. Unless you're familiar with your father's personal jutsus, there is no getting through."

* * *

"The gaki is quite persistent, but he won't break through the barrier. Even if he does somehow manage, you'll be dead before he and the others can be of any help," said Orochimaru confidently. 

"Enough talk, this ends now, Orochimaru!" shouted Sarutobi, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke surrounded the Sandaime Hokage and when it cleared the mighty Emna could be seen standing next to him.

"So it's finally time, eh, Sarutobi," said Enma with approval. Sarutobi nodded. "Very well... Henge: Kongounyoi (Transformation: Adamantine Staff)!"

A puff of smoke saw the Saru Boss transform into a long staff that hovered into the awaiting hand of the Sandaime Hokage. Sarutobi twirled Enma, now in staff form, around to get a feel for the staff, as it had been some time since he and Enma last fought together and even longer since he had used the Saru Boss in staff form.

"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Ku no Tachi!" shouted Orochimaru who then opened his mouth wide for a snake's head to pop out of his mouth. The serpent then opened it's deadly maw to reveal the hilt of a sword as had been done during the Sannin's encounter with Team 7 within the Forest of Death. Much like Sarutobi had done before, Orochimaru twirled his sword around, taking a few practice swings with his new right arm, before sliding into a defensive stance. The Kusanagi glowed brightly for a short moment as Orochimaru smirked. "Let us begin this final dance of death..."

* * *

All over Konohagakure battles were taking place in the streets, on roof tops and just about anywhere else one could think of. 

"We're being pushed back!" shouted one Chuunin. "We've lost sectors 37 and 39!"

"See if we can't cut 'em off in the next alley," said a Jounin as the small group was suddenly ambushed by a medium sized detachment of Oto and Suna Shinobi. "Kuso!"

"Well, well, look at what we got here..." said the leader, a Suna-nin, confidently.

Suddenly the entire area was shrouded in an icy mist.

"You have invaded my new home and are trying to hurt my precious people... This I can not allow..." said a voice echoing in the mist.

Screams pierced the air and the mist cleared.

Not far off, was a feminine looking boy holding a few senbon in his hand. Much to the relief of the small Konoha detachment, he bore a Konoha hitai-ite. Each of the ambushers had Senbon sticking out of various places in their bodies, effectively disabling them.

"They should be down for some time," said Haku assuringly as he and the others went to retake the lost sectors.

* * *

Hayate and Genma were working in perfect tandem taking out nin after nin. Genma spit out the Senbon that was in his mouth at an enemy Suna nin, who easily deflected it only to be left open for Hayate's attack. 

"Ten no Kenbu: Go Tsurugi Dageki (Sword Dance of the Heavens: Five Sword Strike)!" shouted Hayate. He elbowed his victim in the gut and followed up with a devastating high kick to the chin, knocking him up into the air. He then threw his sword up into the air which narrowly missed his enemy.

Hayate jumped at his opponent, grabbing a single energy blade out of the air slashing his midsection. As it dissipated, he spun around and grabbed two more energy swords slashing at his opponent before grabbing the last energy sword and stabbing his opponent with it in the back as he grabbed his sword, slicing the enemy nin in half.

"Somehow, even though you managed to stay up in the air for the entire attack, it looked more impressive when the kid did it," said Genma.

Hayate coughed, "Even so... I taught him everything he knows..."

"I'm sure Kakashi-senpai and Jiraiya-sama would disagree," said Genma. Hayate just shrugged.

* * *

The prior generation's Ino-Shika-Chou Formation were showing off exactly why they were considered one of the greatest teams in not only Konoha history, but Shinobi history as well, as their teamwork surpassed all others. 

"Just like old times, eh boys!" shouted Chouza with enthusiasm.

"It seems rather troublesome really..." Shikaku said lazily. "I'd rather be drinking right now..."

"Admit it, this is the most fun we've had in years!" shouted Inoichi taking out another enemy.

* * *

A teenage girl was running from a group of Oto-nin as she had gotten separated from her evacuation group. She ran into a nearby alley and the Oto-nin continued to pursue. 

"Shottogan (Shot Gun)!" came a shout from the alley way. There was a flash of light as dozens of blue beams shot out from the abandoned alley, as did the young girl's pursuers.

Out of the alley way walked the Rei Sennin, Genkai, "Dimwits, can't even see through a simple Henge... Pathetic..."

A loud explosion was heard in the distance.

Genkai jumped onto the rooftops and saw the east wall being partially demolished by three Hebi Summons. 'Kuso... If I still had my power a summon battle would be no sweat... I'll have to figure out how to take 'em down some other way...'

She then watched as another figure took to the roof tops. She let a small smile grace her aged features.

* * *

"We can't hold the wall!" shouted a Jounin he he sailed through the roof tops, running from the East Wall. A loud explosion alerted everyone to the presence of three massive Hebi Summons. 

"We can't take them!" shouted a Chuunin.

"Look it's Jiraiya-sama!" shouted another Shinobi. Cheers went up as the Gama Sennin made his dramatic appearance on the roof tops.

The three Summons were making their way through the now gaping whole in the village walls.

Biting down on his thumb, he ran through a few handseals. "Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique)!"

"The Jutsu was a dud!" shouted a Suna-nin.

"I expected more from the famous 'Gama Sennin'," bragged a nearby Oto-nin.

Suddenly, a massive toad came sailing from the sky, crashing into the three Snakes.

Various curses could be heard as the mass of assembled Suna and Oto nin were scattered.

* * *

Back at the Chuunin Exam Stadium a green blur was seen moving through out the stands. 

"Konoha Daisenpu!" shouted Maito Gai as he kicked three enemy shinobi out of the air. Landing, he gave his Eternal Rival, Hatake Kakashi, a dazzling smile that pinged as he struck the 'Nice Guy' pose. "Rival Kakashi, how many have you taken out?"

Kakashi had his hitai-ite pulled up, revealing his Sharingan and a kunai in his right hand. He blocked a shuriken that came at his head. Turning to Gai, he answered, "Forty Seven."

"Ha, Ha, the Fires of my Passionate Youth burn much more brightly than yours, for I have taken out Forty Nine!" pronounced Gai.

Kakashi grabbed an attacking Shinobi by the wrist with his left hand and spun around. He then hit his attacker in the back of the head with his left elbow. He then turned to Gai with a lazy expression on his face. "Did you say something, Gai?"

"Ah! Rival Kakashi and your ultra hip and modern ways!" exclaimed Gai.

* * *

Orochimaru parried blow after blow of Sarutobi's staff as the Sandaime drove him back. 

Orochimaru blocked a rather devastating blow from the Sandaime. Only to be punched in the face by his staff.

Orochimaru jumped back and thrust out his left hand. "Sen'eitjashu!"

Nine snakes shot from Orochimaru's sleeves at Sarutobi. The Sandaime flipped backwards and, his own hands speeding through handseals as Enma hovered not too far away from him.

"Ninpou: Kawara Shuriken (Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken)!" Tiles began to rise up from the roof and speed towards Orochimaru.

The Snakes struck Sarutobi at various places on his body injecting their lethal poison into him. He winced in pain only to crumble into a pile of mud.

The tiles sliced right through Orochimaru's body only to find that he too crumbled into a pile of mud.

"Still haven't lost your touch Sarutobi-sensei, but I fear it will not be enough," said Orochimaru jumping from his hiding place.

"On the contrary, I think it will be more than enough," said Sarutobi also jumping out from his hiding spot. He began to speed through handseals.

Orochimaru, in an attempt to stop Sarutobi, shouted out, "Sen'eitjashu!"

Snakes shot from Orochimaru's arms again.

"Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)!" shouted Sarutobi as he kneeled down and his hands touched the rooftop. He opened his mouth and mud began to spill forth from his mouth. The mud formed a wall and the snakes struck the wall. Sarutobi jumped up to the top of the wall again running through handseals. "Katon: Karyuudan no Jutsu!"

He then released a flaming dragon out of his mouth that sped towards his former student. Orochimaru thrust out his right hand. "Chakra no Tate (Shield of Chakra)!" His arm began to glow and a translucent dome appeared in front of him that protected him from the Sandaime's flaming dragon.

* * *

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" shouted Naruto as he charged the barrier. The ANBU grabbed onto the boy before he could reach the barrier with his supercharged melee jutsu. "Let me go!" 

"Quit being foolish, you're only going to get yourself killed!" scolded one of the ANBU. "We all know you're strong, stronger than most other Genin, but not even the Mortal Flame has an effect on the barrier. Charging at it like that will only insure your death."

"I've still got one trick I haven't tried!" said Naruto as the purplish chakra cocoon started to surround him. He drew the Shikon no Ruujin. "Kenjutsu: Myou Enkou no Ken!"

Purplish black flames engulfed the blade of Naruto's katana.

The ANBU looked as if they were going to try and stop Naruto from charging the Barrier again, but Naruto's newest jutsu gave them second thoughts. Naruto swung the inflamed blade down on the Barrier wall.

There was a surge of energy. The backlash of Naruto's sword hitting the barrier threatened to push him back, but utilizing everything he gained from the Tree Walking Exercise allowed Naruto to stay rooted in place. The ANBU and many of the others in the Arena could only watch in amazement as the Barrier cracked.

The flaming blade began to dig deeper into the Barrier. Naruto grit his teeth in concentrated determination, however, his eyes widened when he saw a crack appear in his sword.

* * *

The Kusanagi flew through the air, the blade glowing brightly. Sarutobi's eyes widened as he saw the blade coming straight for him. Before the blade could impale the Sandaime, an arm reached out and snatched the sword out of the air. 

"Sarutobi, finish it!" shouted Enma.

Sarutobi then threw six shuriken at Orochimaru. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!"

Much like Kazama Naruto's earlier match with Hyuuga Neji, each Shuriken multiplied by ten.

Orochimaru sunk into the ground and the Shuriken became imbedded in the rooftop where he once stood.

The Kusanagi began to glow again and the handle came alive and bit Enma's wrist. "Ow...!"

The Saru Boss let go of the Kusanagi but instead of clattering on the ground it remained floating in the air. The blade then spun around towards the Sandaime, but before the Hokage could react, several snakes shot up from the ground holding him in place and unable to use any Jutsus.

The sword glided to where Sarutobi stood secured in place.

The blade had lightly penetrated his armor and had embedded itself an inch into his chest before Enma had gotten a hold of the blade once more.

"Cursed Ape! I have had enough of your interference!" shouted Orochimaru as snakes began to wrap around the Saru Boss Summon.

Before Orochimaru could deal with Enma, a large explosion caught them all off guard.

* * *

"Fifty seven, Fifty Eight, Fifty Nine, Rival Kakashi!" shouted Gai taking out three more Shinobi. 

"Fifty nine, Sixty..." said Kakashi throwing one nin into another.

"You may have the lead now, my Eternal Rival, but in the end I shall be victorious!" shouted Gai.

"Did you say something?" asked Kakashi.

Gai growled in frustration. "Curse you and your ultra hip ways, Kakashi!"

Kakashi then looked towards the Hokage's box where Naruto and his summon had went to. "It looks like Naruto is almost through..." he noted. "We should get up there to back the ANBU up. Orochimaru is dangerous enough on his own, but with his subordinates up there... The ANBU and Naruto will need all the help they can get..."

"Our youthful students are fighting quite well in any case, though I would feel better about leaving them here alone if Akimichi-kun and Inuzuka-kun hadn't been sent away with the Yamanaka girl," said Gai.

"True, but Shikamaru seems to be directing combat well enough, with Sakura as the main support for Shino and Tenten.

* * *

"The kid... He's doing it..." said one of the ANBU in shock. 

Naruto was gritting his teeth. The teal glow of his Jagan turning violet. Malicious red chakra began to leak through and bubble through the violet chakra cocoon.

"What the...!?" asked an ANBU as they saw the transformation.

Naruto's sapphire eyes became slitted and blood red, his canines had turned into fangs. The red chakra formed two kitsune like ears on his head and a tail began to sprout from behind him. The barrier began to crack further.

"Shit... We can't hold it much longer..." said the one with six arms.

"You... Won't... Stop... Me!" said Naruto defiantly applying more pressure to his sword. Finally, the outer Barrier and the sword both gave as the Shikon no Ruujin snapped in two and the Myou Enkou no Ken sliced through the Barrier. The backlash from the resulting penetration knocked Naruto and most of the ANBU detachment off their feet as well as knocking two of Orochimaru's guards off their feet. Without two of their number, the Jutsu isolating the Sandaime Hokage and the 'S' Class Nuke-nin immediately fell.

"Damn Gaki!" growled out Orochimaru, "You have interfered for the last time!"

Orochimaru called the now discarded Kusanagi to him and charged at Naruto, who was barely standing up.

Naruto had just enough time to look up to see Orochimaru charging at him. He made one last ditch effort.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" shouted Naruto, his Jagan glowing brightly.

Orochimaru stopped for all of half a second, but was able to fight off the Jutsu rather quickly, however it was enough.

"Konoha Shofu!" shouted Gai. Orochimaru's current momentum did not allow for any sort of defense and took Gai's attack head on.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" shouted Kakashi as he pulled his mask down, blowing a fireball at Orochimaru. Orochimaru flipped backwards to evade Kakashi's attack when he was knocked off his feet by Enma.

Naruto then charged Orochimaru's downed form, his speed catching everyone by surprise. Naruto brandished his broken katana. "You're mine! Kenjutsu: Myou Enkou no Ken!"

The remains of the blade were engulfed in flames and the flames extended to just beyond the length of what the entire blade had once been.

Orochimaru scrambled to recover, but could not do so in time as Naruto sliced through his left arm. The Sannin screamed out in pain as his left arm was sliced clean through and the stub was scorched by the searing hot purplish black flames.

The others moved to back up Naruto when they were bombarded with several strange looking arrows. Naruto only had enough time to look in the direction the arrows came from when he took a massive elbow to the face from a big man with an orange mohawk. He was caught by Kakashi and Gai as a pale kid with white hair picked up Orochimaru and the four of them and their master made their escape.

The ANBU were about to give chase when a loud roar could be heard from the Arena behind them.

* * *

Kabuto had made a grand escape, having narrowly evaded the infamous Sharingan Kakashi just after he used a mass Genjutsu on the entire stadium. Unfortunately, for him, he couldn't leave. Not just yet, so he had to remain hidden in the shadows. The confusion of the battle allowed him to do so. 

Kazama Naruto had made them resort to one of their back up plans, one Kabuto was certain they wouldn't need given the way Gaara was. To help the Suna gaki overcome his own demon and even get him to help Konoha in the fight was unfathomable. Yes, Kazama Naruto was more skilled and talented than he had first believed, he was one that definitely needed to be watched.

Kabuto ran from his spot in the shadows, weaving his way through Shinobi from Konoha, Suna, and Oto. He pulled something out of a concealed pocket, a piece of paper. A seal with two Kanji meaning 'Rage' and 'Sleep'.

Such a seal would be useless on other beings, what was the point of being enraged if you were asleep? However... On Sabaku no Gaara... It was the ultimate design in weapon's upgrades.

With speed that rivaled Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai he sped towards the center of the arena.

"Gaara, LOOK OUT!" shouted Temari.

Gaara turned around and directed a spike of sand towards the charging Kabuto, who promptly turned into a log as the sand impaled him.

"Too slow, Sabaku-san..." said Kabuto behind Gaara. Gaara turned around, his eyes widened in surprise as Kabuto slapped the seal on his forehead, which resulted in an explosion of sand that knocked Kabuto several yards back.

Kabuto smirked in victory and Shunshined away, his supplementary mission complete.

"GAARA!" shouted Kankuro and Temari, as their youngest brother clutched his head, seemingly in pain as sand engulfed him.

"**I'm... FREE!**" shouted Shukaku as he laughed menacingly.

Temari, who had raced to her brother was knocked back with a lumbering solid fist in the wall of the arena. Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth. She attempted to move, but found she could not. "No... Gaara..."

Kankuro slowly backed away from Shukaku Gaara, as did many others.

* * *

"Kuso... The bijuu has taken over again..." mutter Kakashi, "We better hurry and take him out now before he draws on too much of its' power." 

"No... There's something wrong..." said Naruto who was looking at Gaara with his glowing Jagan. "Gaara had complete control... Something is blocking him..."

"Regardless, we still have to do something about him," said Kakashi.

A booming roar diverted their attention back to Shukaku Gaara who was getting larger and larger.

"Naruto-san, are you capable of summoning Gamabunta?" asked Enma.

"I.. I don't know... I've used a lot of chakra... I even had to borrow some from the Kyuubi..." answered Naruto honestly.

"He's the only one capable of taking on a monstrosity that size left in Konoha..." said Enma, "Though I am powerful, being the Saru Boss, I am not large enough to fight such an entity, the Inu contract's boss isn't anywhere near the size needed either, and the Kame Boss is only good on the Sea."

"We still have to get him out of the village," said Gai, "A summon battle in the middle of the village would be most disastrous."

"I'll take care of it!" said Naruto with a cocky grin. He ran and leapt off of the building. He pricked his finger and ran through the handseals.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" A large explosion of smoke sent others in the immediate area below flying.

* * *

"Kuso... I'm tired of getting thrown around down here!" shouted Kankuro as he shakily got to his feet, until he looked up and saw the largest Toad he had ever seen. "Sugoi..." 

More deja vu hit the Konoha nin as Gamabunta was summoned, Naruto standing on his head with the Jagan blazing brightly staring down the demon that threatened his village. Many were struck with a sense of irony.

* * *

The other Rookie's looked on in awe at Naruto's display of power. 

"Im-Impossible..." gasped Sakura. "Is that Naruto?"

"Incredible..." whispered Shikamaru.

* * *

"**This better be good kid**," said the Boss Summon. 

"Who do you think I am, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto, then he pointed to Shukaku, "We've got problems."

"**Shukaku**...** The Suna Youkai **(Sand Demon)... **You don't do things by halves do you Gaki**?" asked Gamabunta.

"Before we can go wild, we need to get him out of the village, any ideas?" asked Naruto.

"**None, that wouldn't require me to take a lot of damage**... **Do you think you could channel ITS' power into me**?"asked Gamabunta. "**It's about the only shot we have without wrecking the village too much**."

"I should be able to... What have you got in mind?" asked Naruto.

"**Just follow my lead and hold on tight**!" shouted Gamabunta.

"_**If you two are quite done, I'm bored and I have plenty of blood to spill**_!" shouted Shukaku.

"Bring it!" challenged Naruto.

"**Suiton: Teppoudama** (Water Release: Gunshot)!" shouted Gamabunta as he and Naruto took to the air. The bullets of water impacted in the stadium around Shukaku, only one made a direct him.

Gamabunta and Naruto landed in the midst of a bunch of houses. "Kuso, I thought you said we wouldn't damage the village!"

"**No, I said we would damage the village as little as possible**!" replied Gamabunta, "**Now get ready**! **Give me your energy**!"

Naruto made a one-handed Ram Seal with his right hand and placed his left one on the Gama Boss Summon. "Ninpou: Kuchiyose: Youko-Gama Ijou (Ninja Art: Summoning: Demon Fox-Toad Transfer)!"

A large puff of smoke surrounded the pair. Many stood in shock and awe at what they saw. Gamabunta's eyes became slitted and red, like Naruto's and his whole body seemed to get leaner and more muscled. The spots on his once red cheeks were gone and in their place was three whisker like marks. In place of his traditional kimono was plated armor covered in spikes. Even his webbed feet had claws on them. His color had gone from being an orangish red to a yellowish orange.

"_**When I give the signal, I want you to start using the Mortal Flame**_!" ordered Gamabunta, his voice deeper and more menacing, as Shukaku took to the air after them.

"_**Fuuton: Renkuudan**_ (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!" shouted Shukaku as he breathed in deeply, pounding his chest hard. He blew out half a dozen giant bullets of compressed air.

"_**NOW, Gamayudan **_(Toad Oil Bullet)!" shouted Gamabunta as he spit out a few bullets of oil. Naruto quickly ran through the handseals.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" shouted Naruto, who then threw multiple fireballs at the bullets of oil.

"_**GOUKATON: GAMAYU INOCHI ENDAN **_(Hellfire Release: Toad Oil Mortal Flame Bullet)!" Shouted both Naruto and Gamabunta simultaneously. The Mortal Flame Bullets impacted with and destroyed the Air Bullets. Two impacted with Shukaku's midsection, blowing right through him.

Gamabunta's tongue lashed out wrapping around the currently disabled Shukaku. Jerking his head back he flung Shukaku into the forest surrounding the village. Gamabunta jumped towards Shukaku in pursuit.

The Suna Oni barely recovered enough of his body to evade the lumbering bulk of Gamabunta.

"Bunta... We've got to end this soon... I don't know how long I could keep this up..." said Naruto, whose voice was becoming strained, his Jagan glowing bright red.

"**Right**!" agreed Bunta. "**Hey, Gaki**...** What is that**?"

Naruto looked at Shukaku and saw the unconscious Gaara on top of Shukaku with a seal on his head. "I thought so... We need to get that seal off of Gaara, it should be enough to contain Shukaku again!"

"_**Another Jinchuuriki**_!" said Gamabunta.

"Yeah, but he's my friend!" said Naruto desperately.

"_**Very well kid, I can get you in close, but if you fail it's going to be bad for us**_!" said Gamabunta.

Gamabunta took to the air, shouting, "_**Gama Kaenhoushaki**_ (Toad Flamethrower)!"

He breathed in deeply and expelled a large stream of fire at Shukaku, who jumped back. Gamabunta landed and with speed that belied his size, jumped straight towards Shukaku. He drew his sword, slicing off Shukaku's front paws and slammed into the Suna Oni's torso. Naruto had launched off of Gamabunta before the Toad Boss impacted with the Demon.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" shouted Naruto, who became a hundred Narutos.

Each scrambled to get to Gaara who was being protected still by Shukaku. Several even tried using the Kazama Naruto Kunai Tokudan, to no avail.

With sheer numbers, Naruto was able to get to Gaara and rip the seal from the sleeping boy's head. "Wake up!" he shouted, backhanding the boy. Gaara awoke upon the impact of Naruto's fist.

"_**NO**_!" shouted Shukaku desperately as his hold on the outside world had abruptly vanished. He began to instantly crumble.

"_**Kuso**_!" cursed Gamabunta in a pained voice, "_**It looks like I'm done kid... That special chakra of yours has put too much strain on my body as well**_..._** You won't be able to call me out for a while**_..."

The two Genin fell from many stories in the air in a rapid free fall.

"Kuso..." cursed Naruto in a tired voice.

The two were saved when they were snatched out of the air by two wooden figures.

"Got 'em!" shouted a familiar voice. It was Kankuro and his sister Temari. Gaara's older siblings.

"H-Hey... Make-up Boy..." said Naruto shakily. "Arigato..."

Just then others arrived.

It was Kakashi, Gai, and a few other Jounin's that looked familiar to Naruto but he couldn't identify as his entire world turned black.

"We only came for our brother," said Kankuro who directed his puppet with six arms to gently set down Naruto. The girl Temari, set her other brother into a long puppet that resembled a giant insect that, if Kakashi guessed right, was mostly for defensive purposes.

"Tell Kazama-sama when he awakes... Thank you..." said Temari as she and Kankuro left.

"Let them go..." said Kakashi. "The invasion is over... We don't need any unnecessary blood to be spilled, theirs or ours."

Kakashi scooped up Naruto into his arms and left with the others to the nearest hospital.

* * *

A/N: Here it is, the 13th Installment of Ultimate Kekkei Genkai: The Jagan! This fic and the others will be temporarily put on hold until after I complete my Christmas Holiday Special Chapter, which will be commenced on the 28th of this month at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. 

I have one more update for Weapon in the works and once the Christmas Chapter is complete everything should be business as normal. I will post the Special Chapter on Christmas Day, or at least that's what's planned.

The Christmas Chapter polls can be found in my forums. The direct link is in my profile and the first of the three polls can be found at the top of my profile page. Well, that's all for now... Ja Ne!


	14. Christmas Holiday Special 2007: Intermi

A/N: Hello everybody and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

* * *

As you are all well aware, Ultimate Kekkei Genkai: The Jagan won the poll to host the Special Christmas Chapter for this year.

The timeline for this fic is After the 'Search for Tsunade Arc', but before the 'Sasuke Retrieval Arc'. Like the Dragon Ball Z movies, as compared to the Manga and Anime, this Chapter will have little to do with the rest of the fic as a whole. Which should be painfully obvious as Tsunade hasn't made an appearance in this fic yet and Jiraiya and Naruto haven't even left to go looking for her as of yet.

On another note, I will be setting up a poll to see if you guys would like to see a Valentines Day Special in February and which fic you'd like to see it in.

Now... To answer all of those reviews from my faithful readers!

* * *

**Garuto:** Sarutobi's fate will be revealed in the next chapter.

**Genesis D. Rose:** Naruto will get a new sword, but that won't be for some time. In the meantime he'll still carry the shattered remains of his father's sword.

**Akira Stridder:** How Orochimaru restored his arm after Naruto incinerated it in the Forest of Death was a sort of prosthetic using an advanced knowledge in seals, ninjutsu and anatomy. Think of an armband device that feeds off of Orochimaru's chakra, to use a Kage Bunshin variant. Of course it will be useless now as it would take too much chakra for Orochimaru to maintain two arms.

**Lunatic Pandora1:** Mostly, I was going for original. The Naruto/Gaara fight has been done so many ways, to various degrees of success. I'd still like to think this was one of the better ones. he problem with a Naru/Bunta Combi Henge is the fact that they were still in the middle of the village. Plus, everyone knows what a Kyuubified Naruto looks like and even some of the other Jinchuuriki when under the influence of their respective Bijuu, so I decided to take a look at how Kyuubi's Youki would affect other things. Sure, Naruto has used Kyuubi's chakra to summon Bunta, but from there on it was Naruto's will and Bunta's energy that kept the Toad Boss in the real world. So I decided that instead of a Henge that would result in the destruction of half the village, I'd dabble in the concept of a Kyuubified Gamabunta and a Youki influenced Naruto. It's a nice concept that will most likely be seen again later on in the fic, but not anytime soon, as using the Youki taxes Gamabunta even more than it does Naruto.

**Tellemicus Sundance:** I've been doing my best at trying to keep him from being drastically overpowered. The only true stretch I see, and I will admit to whole heartedly, is the Naruto/Gaara fight, part 2. Naruto had been able to rest between the Neji and Lee fight, and Naruto didn't really do anything except get stomped on during the first Gaara fight, so other than his quick healing and one major jutsu, he didn't really use that much chakra until he summoned Gamamusha.

The big reason why I carried the scene out like I did was because I still wanted the Summon Fight during the invasion. It was also the perfect chance to do something different with Naruto and Gamabunta and carry the fight out a different way.

The power won't come without cost, of that I assure you.

The sword breaking scene was actually more of a tribute to one of my favorite book series. The Book in Question, if you were curious, is called the Scions of Shannara. Unlike Hiei, Naruto's sword will stay broken.

**Chaosknight999:** I have no idea where I'm going with pairings as of yet. However, I CAN say it WILL be between Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Temari. All subsequent minor pairings involving those ladies will be established once the main pairing is decided.

**Ferail:** No Kurama is NOT the Kyuubi. I may include that technique later, I haven't decided yet. In fact, it almost made it into the final cut in the fight against Neji as being a sort of counter for the Byakugan. But alas, it was not meant to be...

**RetardedMe:** Thanks for the kudos. I personally would go for the third option. Kami-sama doesn't get enough credit for all of the hard work he puts into the miserable blue speck of a planet.

* * *

And now, for the rest of the... Err... Intermission...

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**Chapter 14: Intermission: Christmas 2007 Holiday Special Chapter

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**It was a wondrous, beautiful, picturesque winter day. 

Nearly the whole village was in a buzz of excitement. Snow blanketed every corner of not only Konohagakure no Sato, but the whole of Fire Country in its' entirety. People had strung lights and various decorations from their rooftops (much to the displeasure of various shinobi), windows, doors and anywhere else they were permitted to.

The entire village was seemingly in a blissful state of harmonic peace. It seemed that with the onset of the Holiday Season, troubles and disputes with hostile villages, nuke-nin and bandits were forgotten.

Many, mostly civilians, were even speculating as to the origins of a huge, lumbering tree that had mysteriously appeared in the middle of the night in the center of the courtyard of the Hokage Tower. What had really been a sight to behold was the creative and innovative ways the various shinobi and kunoichi who were assigned to decorate the tree had done so.

Parties and celebrations were being held in various places at various times among both the civilian and ninja populations. Yamanaka Ino had even invited members of the Rookie Nine, Team Gai and Haku to a small get together at her house. The same invitation was also extended to the younger three members of Team Baki should any of them find themselves in Konohagakure around the time of the party.

Yet through all the joy and the festivities there was one person who was not happy. He was not in the mood for celebrating. That after all that had happened, all he had accomplished, he felt like he had gained very little. And like every other time he felt like he did at that moment, he ended up on top of the Hokage Monument. On top of the Yondaime Hokage's head as a matter of fact.

Coming to this location served two purposes. First and foremost, he could get a great view of the village from his extremely high perch. Second, he could get away from the village without actually having to leave.

No matter how much he loved his village, and he probablly loved it more than anyone, he just had to get away from it all. This was especially true around certain dates, though no one seemed to notice. Certainly not his 'Family' and most definitely not his friends.

However to his credit, Iruka had looked at the boy rather suspiciously when the boy even said that he'd gratefully accept a 'D'-Rank mission that take him out of the village for well over a week. Unfortunately, the snow had come early and the mission had been cancelled.

Kazama Naruto sighed. He remembered back to his childhood a few years back when Ino had been depressed because her father was gone on a mission and most likely wouldn't be back until after the Christmas Holiday. He remembered her elation when her father had just barely managed to make it back early that Christmas afternoon. It had been a touching scene and even now after all that time, the memory still caused him great pain. A constant reminder of what he didn't or wouldn't ever have. It hadn't been the first time, and he doubted it would ever be the last time, that he wished he'd have had parents growing up. Even now, when he was practically considered an adult, he sometimes wished it were so.

He loved them all dearly, but they could never fill the missing part that he knew was lost forever that night a little over thirteen years ago. Sarutobi-jiji was the gentle, soft spoken grandfather, who always had a kind word or an insightful bit of advise. Kakashi-sensei was like that strange uncle that everyone loved, but was just plain weird. Ero-Sennin was loveable enough, he supposed, but the man, aside from being an unforgivable lecher, was irresponsibility incarnate.

Of all the other adults left that had made a rather sizeable impact on his life were Iruka, who had always treated Naruto as something of a cherished nephew or a younger brother and Tsunade-baa-chan and Shizune-nee-chan. The latter two and himself also shared a strong sibling bond, despite Tsunade's gambling and drinking habits and the age gaps between them. Tsunade was the authoritive older sister, always bossing people around, Naruto was the annoying younger brother always getting on her nerves with Shizune acting as the mediator between the two of them.

Even though they had gotten to know each other quite well, Hayate-sensei and Naruto still maintained a rather professional teacher/student relationship, and with more and more missions coming up as of late, the two rarely saw each other as much as they used to.

Even though he had a 'family' now, it just wasn't the same as what it would have been like growing up with one and having parents in one form or another. No matter how much he told himself they would always be there for him, he couldn't get rid of the lingering doubt that maybe, just maybe they'd realize everything up until that point had either been one huge mistake, or a rather well crafted, vicious lie.

Try as he might, images from his childhood flashed before his very eyes.

Being chased away by parents when he tried to interact with others his own age. The cold glares they would give him as he both approached and left. Their looks of scorn and burning hatred.

The older kids making fun of him and trashing the snowman he tried to make.

The Christmas gift he had spent a lot of time of thinking about and put a lot of effort into for Sakura-chan, only to be rejected (yet again) rather forcefully. The humiliation of rejection, the look of approval on her parents faces as she sent him away with nothing but a feeling of emptiness and wounded pride.

Watching Ino reunited with her father that wasn't due back for many days.

The celebrations and festivities that he was either not allowed to attend or participate in for no real reason, or was kicked out of for whatever reason seemed convenient.

Naruto shook himself from the images. They would only make him more depressed and bitter. Two things he tried never to be, but always was whenever it was either his birthday or the Christmas Season while he was in Konoha. Though he had to admit, it was worse on his birthday during the Kyuubi festival than it was during the Christmas Holiday.

"Troublesome..." Naruto sighed.

"You're starting to sound like me, Naruto..." said Shikamaru.

"I didn't even sense you come up here," commented Naruto.

"Even your eye can't see everything Naruto," said Shikamaru.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked with a slightly demanding tone.

Shikamaru sighed. "Ino sent me to find you. Sakura told me that you'd probablly be up here."

"I figured it would be too 'troublesome' to go out looking for me," Naruto slightly smiled as he said this.

"Yeah, it is... But it's more troublesome if I don't do as Ino and Sakura tell me to," said Shikamaru. "Sometimes they put even my Kaa-san to shame with their bossiness..." Shikamaru visibly shuddered.

"Especially when they're together and agreeing on something,"chuckled Naruto.

"So why don't you make it less troublesome for the two of us, and come back with me to Ino's house," said Shikamaru.

"Gomen... I... I can't..." Naruto told the normally lazy shinobi hesitantly.

"Sakura told me you would say as much... So she told me to tell you that you were to be there within the next half hour no matter what," said Shikamaru.

"I was expecting to be on a mission so I didn't get anyone anything..." Naruto admitted hesitantly.

"You still have time, Christmas isn't for another few days yet anyway," said Shikamaru, who then paused, looking at Naruto for a moment. "That's not it is it?"

"Yeah... No... Well, not entirely..." answered Naruto, "I really wasn't expecting to be in Konoha this year..."

"Because you didn't want to be," said Shikamaru, "Sakura said you were acting strange lately. Like you almost sounded desperate when requesting a multi-day mission."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, "Sharp as ever, Shika..."

"It was the same around your birthday too, remember that mission me, Hinata, Kakashi and you went on?" asked Shikamaru, "I volunteered because you just wanted to get away from the festival, but that wasn't the only reason was it?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Naruto.

"Because Christmas has nothing to do with the Kyuubi," replied Shikamaru, "I don't know why I never saw it before... Or why no one else noticed... I guess I never really thought about it. Explains why Sasuke refused to come after you too."

"Figured me out, eh?" asked Naruto sadly.

"Yeah... I'll tell them you're busy or somethin' and that you'll try to be there later," said Shikamaru.

"That's only going to make things more 'troublesome' for you," said Naruto knowing how Ino and Sakura would likely react. One of them were bad enough when they were driven to get something they wanted. It was much, MUCH worse when the two were working together towards the same goal.

Naruto was certain that if the girls dropped their rivalry with one another and both decided to share the man of their dreams no one, not even Sasuke's "cool and mysterious" (emo) attitude would be able to stand up to the combined force of their charms.

"Yeah... Consider it your Christmas present..." said Shikamaru turning to leave.

"Shika... Arigato..." whispered Naruto, though the lazy nin heard.

"No problem, Naruto," said the cloud watcher as he left.

"I had wondered why you hadn't come to bug me about training you," said another familiar voice just moments after Shikamaru had left.

Naruto jumped slightly at the suddenness of the voice, but did not show any other reaction. He did frown after a moment. "You and Kakashi-sensei are always able to sneak up on me, even when I am focusing the Jagan... How do you guys do it?"

"I am on a level equal to a Kage, and Kakashi is arguably the most powerful and skilled Jounin in the village," said Jiraiya, "Then there's also the fact that we either trained, trained with, or was trained by your father. So we were bound to learn a trick or two."

"What did you want Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto irritably.

"What do you think? To check up on you," said Jiraiya, "I was worried that you haven't been bugging me as much lately, but then I figured you got a mission. It wasn't until the Nara boy came looking for you that I decided to look for you."

"Look for me? You probablly just followed Shikamaru, letting him do all the work," snorted Naruto.

"Be that as it may, I still found you," he defended, "Interesting thinking spot though..."

"It always has been... For as long as I can remember I always came here to be alone, to think, or just to get away from everything," said Naruto, "I think I'm gonna have to find a new spot because it seems whenever someone finds out where it is, they tell someone else..."

Jiraiya chuckled at that remark, "It's not like they come and bug you when your up here unless it's real important."

"Does Baa-chan need me for a mission? Is Konoha in danger? Are any of my friends hurt or dying?" asked Naruto, "I don't really see going to a party with all my friends and THEIR families as an important reason to bug me while I have my Sasuke moment."

Jiraiya smiled at the last comment, "Do you really, and I mean REALLY want to be alone?"

"I..." he paused, "I don't know... A little bit of both, I guess..."

"Trust me Gaki, I know the feeling," said Jiraiya, "Me, Tsu-hime, and Orochi-teme all went through this when we lost our parents in the war. Tsunade had it a bit better than us because she still had Nawaki, the Shodaime and the Nidaime. Then of course they got killed, but by that time she still had Dan. We all know what happened from there... Her leaving hurt a lot worse than Orochimaru's betrayal."

"You still... _Like_... Her don't you, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya smiled, but did not answer, his silence told Naruto more than enough. "Listen, Gaki... Don't wait for the unattainable to come around..."

"But-..." Naruto began, only to be cut off.

Jiraiya shook his head. "I know you've already decided to give up on her, but that doesn't mean you're over her, and you probablly won't ever be completely. Being your first crush, she'll always have a place in here." Jiraiya tapped his chest where his heart was located. "Just... Don't spend years waiting for something that won't happen. If you find a chance to be happy, take it."

Naruto nodded. "You know... I was expecting you to talk me into going to Ino's house for the party..."

"Of all the things I am, I'd like to think I'm not a hypocrite," said Jiraiya, "I've avoided things like that since my parents died. I went to Tsu-hime's place and your old man's once or twice, but well..."

"Yeah..."

The two fell in an easy silence looking over the village.

"You know what the real difference between us is though..." said Jiraiya.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya in confusion, because he knew Jiraiya was not talking about their age, height, nor was he referring to Naruto's little furry tenant.

"I didn't have any real close friends like you do. After my parents died, I kept everyone at a distance, even Tsu-hime. By the time I was ready to let her in, Dan came along and I missed my chance," Jiraiya told him, "When Dan died, it was the last straw for her, she closed herself off from everyone, except Shizune, who she used as a sort of link to her dead fiancee. Of course I'd pretty much cemented my reputation by then so any moves I made she'd have thought I was taking advantage of her."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, before looking back at the village.

"Don't... Don't ENTIRELY be like me..." Jiraiya ordered.

"Entirely?" asked Naruto, an eyebrow raising questioningly.

"Well, I won't object to you taking up the devout learnings of pervertism and becoming a renown super-pervert like my self!" stated Jiraiya proudly, "Because I like you so much, I'll even take you as my apprentice and show you the Way of the Ero-Sennin!"

"Baka Ero-Sennin..." Naruto mumbled shaking his head, a smile gracing his face.

Jiraiya took a deep breathe. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the Yamanaka and Haruno girls are throwing this Christmas Party for you, they wanted to make sure you celebrated the Holidays properly."

"Why?" asked a shocked Naruto.

"Because they're your friends, Gaki," said Jiraiya, "They even got that Emo-Uchiha to help out. You wouldn't want all that hard work to go to waste now, would you? Besides, you'd hurt their feelings if you were the only one not to go."

"I thought you weren't here to talk me into going?" asked Naruto.

"I'm not, I'm just giving you information so you can make an informed decision," Jiraiya stated. "Besides, if you do decide to go, it's not like you have to stay. Show up, say hi to a few people and then come back here and spend the rest of the night brooding like your teammate. Who knows, maybe you'll have fun and be like your normal self and I won't almost mistake you for a Henged Uchiha."

Naruto seemed to think over Jiraiya's words before turning around to leave. He paused for a moment and looked back over his shoulder.

"Thanks... Jiraiya-sensei..." Naruto whispered.

"No problem, Naruto..." Jiraiya answered. "Now get goin' you don't have much time left before Sakura's time limit expires. 'Guest of Honor' or not, that Sakura girl will thump you pretty good if you're late and if she's anything like Tsu-hime angry... I bet they hurt quite a bit."

"Not as much as they used to... Many years of 'Sakura beatings' have given me a high pain tolerance," said Naruto as he began to make his way to the Yamanaka residence.

Jiraiya looked back over the village, seemingly waiting for something with a sad look on his face. "You've been over there for a while, care to share what's on your mind?"

Stepping out from her hiding place was a rather busty blonde woman who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. "Jiraiya..."

"How much did you hear?" he asked directly.

"Everything after he complained about you and Kakashi being able to sneak up on him," answered Tsunade. Jiraiya sighed, but said nothing. They were silent for a few moments, before Tsunade spoke up again. "Jiraiya..."

"Don't... It's already too late. We're both so far set in our ways that we'd drive each other nuts," he said seriously.

"I... I didn't know..." Tsunade said defensively.

"I don't want your pity, Tsu-hime," he said sternly, "You know... You were the main reason I set up my spy network. I used it as a way to not only to keep tabs on you, but help you pay off your debts too."

Tsunade's head turned sharply towards Jiraiya in shock.

"When you left, you were so stricken with grief and Shizune was still just a small girl, I didn't want anything to happen to you. Until Arashi came along, you were about the only bright spot in my life."

"What about Sensei and Orochimaru?"

"Do you really have to ask?" asked Jiraiya, "Between Sarutobi-sensei's blatant favoritism, Orochimaru's cold personality and my own jealousy and resentment. They may have been like a second father and a brother to me, but they weren't what kept me going through the really tough times..."

"You said you helped pay off my debts... How? Shizune would have noticed..."

Jiraiya smirked. "Who said she didn't know? How do you think I was able to keep track of you? I would have taken far longer than a month and a half to find you if it wasn't for your apprentice being a part of my own spy network."

"I had always wondered how you were always able to find me over the years," commented Tsunade.

"Yeah... But finding you was the easy part... Getting you to come back..." said Jiraiya, "That Gaki is an amazing kid. He'll be even better than Arashi I think."

Tsunade shivered due to the cold. "Jiraiya... How about joining me for a drink? I've spent enough time during this particular holiday alone..."

"Tsunade...?"

"I've spent all this time wallowing in the past, thinking about what could have been, thinking about what I've lost, that I lost sight of what I did have..." she said sadly, "Taking things for granted... Taking you for granted... You... You've always been there haven't you?"

Jiraiya didn't answer.

"Always, when I was at my worst, when things got really bad, you would always show up. You'd always make me laugh, or just piss me off, but always you took my mind off of them for a little bit and made the pain hurt that much less, even for just a small a moment." she pressed on, "No matter how horribly I would treat you sometimes you always came back for me..."

"I'd go to the ends of the Earth and beyond for you, Tsu-hime... Always and forever..."said Jiraiya, he touched her face gently, he then pulled her face towards him and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He smiled when he saw her light blush. "I'm gonna pass on the drink though..."

"Wha- Why!?" she asked in shock.

"Because I want you to be sure. I want you to have no regrets. My feelings are pretty clear, but we're too emotionally charged to think through this just now..." explained Jiraiya, "If anything does come of this, I want to be sure of your feelings."

"Who'd have thought you were such a romantic?" she asked him playfully.

"If you'd have read any of my books, you'd have known that," he said, then he winced slightly before mentally preparing him for the patented 'Tsunade Anti-Pervert Punch'.

"You're just too much sometimes... Ero-Sennin..." She couldn't help but giggle at his dumbfounded look on his face because he hadn't been sent flying. "I'll let you off the hook this time, but you have to spend Christmas day with me."

"I promise... Baa-chan..." he chuckled lightly as he lowered his hand to his side and stepped back from her.

"It's a date..." Tsunade confirmed. "Oh and Jiraiya..."

Faster than Jiraiya could blink, Tsunade's hand shot out.

"That's for being a pervert and calling me old..."

'Shit...' was Jiraiya's only thought as he watched everything slow down. Tsunade's hand was inches from his face, her finger slowly extending as he flicked him in his forehead.

"Aaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Jiraiya screamed as he was sent flying.

* * *

Naruto was a few blocks away from the Yamanaka residence and flower shop, marveling at the various Christmas decorations around the town as his sensei flew overhead. "Baka Ero-Sennin... You never learn do you?"

* * *

A/N: A day late, I know, but it still came out all right I think. Expect updates on Ultimate Experiment pretty soon and the possible posting of another new fic, Ultimate Kitsune: Youko Naruto. Like this one and Rei Shinobi, it's another YuYu Hakusho - Naruto fusion. Before anyone asks, there WILL NOT be a fourth one that fuses Naruto with Kuwabara.

Anyways... Please review and let me know what you think of this intermission chapter!


	15. Naruto's Birthright, The Search for Tsun

_A/N: I know it had been a LONG time in the making, but I assure you the wait was well worth it. Anyways, I now have a few things to address since Christmas, so do be patient. However, I am pleased to note that many, many people enjoyed the Intermission Chapter and was glad I contributed something new for the Christmas Season. Anyways, here is the newest chapter of UKG: The Jagan. My earlier attempts at writing this chapter will be in the "Archive Rejects"._

_So here's my review responses..._

**VFSNAKE:** Ino and Sakura were just kids, and in now way actual 'beat' Naruto other than what you see on the show and that is utilized by Kishimoto as more for comedic value if anything. Plus that reaction is a bit extreme for what I'm going for in this fic, though I do admire your enthusiasm.

**Demon95:** Emo + Naruto just doesn't mix...

**SHANNARO!!:** Unless it is done properly, a Harem can actually take away from the story. Many Harem fics are crap, however, those few that are good, are great. There isn't much of a middle ground. Harem fics are either epic win or epic fail, not a chance I'd like to take with this fic. I've done that with the interactions to build up to a pairing, so that no matter who I pick for Naruto's "better half", even the most avid pairing haters will not have anything logical to complain about.

**Tenshiko Hatake:** Yes, there is a possibility for Naru/Saku, not to beat a dead horse, but it isn't set in stone just yet.

**animeawsome:** Morgan Leah was always one of my favorite characters and the Morgan/Quickening pairing Terry had going on in The Druid of Shannara was beautifully done. I almost cried towards the end of that book. The first one I read was the Elf Queen and I got hooked. I have almost ALL of his books and they are awesome! Trust me, they are well worth it, he's the reason why I've always wanted to write.

**Chishio ken Namida no Ame:** Trust me, it wasn't easy. In fact, up until Chapter 10, I was posting once a week and then after that it was like every other week up until Christmas. Most of those chapters were written when my daughter was asleep in my lap. As you've no doubt noticed, my writing speed has taken quite the beating since she was born. Now that she is almost a year old and getting into things I have to watch her more and write less. None-the-less, I wouldn't trade her for anything.

**F-14 Tomcat Lover:** Actually, it's an old Japanese folktale about a Shape-shifting ninja named Jiraiya who could turn into a toad and married a princess named Tsunade, who was the master of snail magic. His Arch-enemy and one time follower was Orochimaru, a master of snake magic.

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And now, for the rest of the story...

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Naruto's Birthright, The Search for Tsunade pt. 1**

* * *

The mission, more than anything, had been a relief to Naruto. He couldn't handle the stress of being in Konohagakure at the moment. Six things had constantly been on is mind since the aftermath of the Oto/Suna Invasion. The first was the amount of damage done to Konoha, which he still felt guilty about. A large portion of the village had been destroyed by him and Gamabunta when they leapt from the arena. Though many people assured him that things could have been a lot worse.

Second, was his father's sword the Shikon no Ryuujin. It was irreparably shattered. Though Naruto had a new katana, the Shikon no Ryuujin still hung at his waist. Despite assurances from Hayate, Tenten and Kakashi that the new katana was perfectly balanced and in pristine condition, it felt off, bulky and weird. It just wasn't the same, nor was it something he could explain.

Hayate-sensei had speculated that Naruto had formed a bond with his father's sword which was why his kenjutsu skills seemed to skyrocket during the span of a couple months. On the other hand, with the sword shattered, no other sword would ever "feel" right and Naruto's skills would probablly never recover unless he bonded with another sword. Hayate had said that bonding with ONE sword was extremely rare and that the only people he knew of that had ever done so, other than Naruto, were The Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu, and only two of them had ever bonded with more than a single blade.

'Not impossible,' Naruto mused, 'Just unlikely...'

The third thing was the old man, the Sandaime Hokage, who was currently laid up in a hospital bed. Naruto wished he had gotten there sooner, but he was definitely glad it hadn't been later, or else the old man would have died.

He was the primary, though no the only, reason he had readily agreed to go with Ero-Sennin to find this Tsunade person. Kakashi-sensei had said that she was able to heal anything and that if anyone could heal Ojii-san she could. The fact that Genkai-sensei had agreed with Kakashi after her own failed attempt to help Ojii-san was more than enough assurance that Naruto needed that they had to find the old lady former teammate of Ero-Sennin.

This brought Naruto to the fourth thing on his mind. His training. Sure Kakashi was a lazy bastard, he even he took a more hands on approach to his training than Ero-Sennin did! Jiraiya was all about giving one, maybe two instructions before running off and doing... Whatever it is old lech's do.

Kakashi had thoroughly explained the first step of the Rasengan and shown him how to do it, making sure he understood what he was doing. Of course understanding and doing were two different things and his injuries were not helping either. Naruto, though ambidextrous, tended to lead with his right hand in battle. This was why he used his right arm to use the Darkness Dragon and why he fought with his right hand most of the time with his sword. It wasn't that he couldn't do it with the left, he just preferred the right.

Despite not being able to use Rasengan with his right arm and his having to use his slightly less conditioned left harm, he still managed the first stage and was working on the second, which Jiraiya only said to pop the rubber ball using chakra, then after showing Naruto once, walked off towards the nearest red light district.

Naruto had already decided that once he fully mastered the Rasengan, the first thing he was going to do was shove one right up Jiraiya's ass for not helping him more and one for Kakashi for thinking this guy was some sort of awesome sensei. Sure the lech was super crazy powerful, and so what if he had taught the Yondaime most of what he knew, that didn't make him a good sensei. Then again... He DID teach the Yondaime Hokage so maybe his training methods weren't so bad... Naruto shook his head clear of those traitorous thoughts. He sure as hell was NOT going to give Jiraiya the benefit of the doubt.

The fifth thing that came across his mind was peoples reactions to him. Thinly disguised fear and loathing he could deal with. Unwarranted looks of malice when they thought he wasn't looking and unaware he could deal with. Slightly overcharging him or even being less that helpful to him when he was shopping he could deal with. After all, he's had to deal with it as long as he could remember.

However, what Naruto could NOT deal with, was the looks of awe and admiration he was getting now. People going out of their way to aid and assist him with any and everything, whether he wanted them to or not. The market place was just like everyone else, trying to give him groceries and the like at half price, if not practically trying to give it away. It was everything he'd always wanted and yet... The concept was so foreign to him that he just wasn't sure how to deal with it all. This was another reason he had readily accepted this mission to go with Jiraiya.

The final thing on his mind and a third reason why he took the mission was his friends. He almost felt sorry leaving Sakura and Sasuke in Konoha to deal with the stares and the questions from the others, but those were questions he just wasn't ready to answer. Not yet and possibly not ever. It was hard enough letting Sasuke, Sakura and Haku find out, it was something he didn't want, but completely unavoidable. Without the pressures of the Chuunin Exams people like Shikamaru and Neji were bound to be putting things together.

And then there was Ino.

The girl had literally thrown herself at him to keep him from permanently blinding Neji. She had been one of his most avid supporters during the Tournament from what he heard, but she was giving him the oddest looks. Admiration mixed with guilt and pity and a touch of curiosity. He didn't know what to make of it and thus did not want to deal with it. He supposed once he got back to Konoha he had better get some needed explanations over with, especially since she wasn't trying to push for answers like before the second task.

Naruto was lost to his thoughts when a sudden epiphany hit him. He opened his Jagan as he unsealed a water balloon, intently watching it as it began to move erradically before popping.

"Ero-Sennin... Show me the second step..."

Jiraiya looked up from his notepad, looking at Naruto questioningly. "Why?"

"Just show me damn it!" Naruto glared at him. His three eyes staring at Jiraiya intently, the middle one glowing slightly. It was an unnerving sight, even more so than when Arashi gave him the same glare.

"Fine... But you better start showing some respect, or else I'm not doing anymore favors for you," grumbled Jiraiya. He picked up one of the many balls of rubber and began to show Naruto the second stage once more. The ball popped with practiced ease.

"That's it!" Naruto shouted. He then snatched up a ball, and proceeded to complete the second stage of the Rasengan.

Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow, before narrowing his eyes. "You've barely made any progress then suddenly you've mastered it... Something you'd like to tell me."

"If you don't know, figure it out..." said Naruto smugly.

Jiraiya grumbled about lack of respect before tossing Naruto another rubber ball. "Do it again."

Naruto gathered the chakra once more, popping the ball. Naruto frowned in confusion, it was harder to do it this time.

"Again." Jiraiya ordered. Naruto looked at Jiraiya questioningly, but did not voice his annoyance. This time he was only able to tear the ball from the inside, the air merely leaking out instead of it exploding.

"What the...!?" Naruto yelled.

"You haven't mastered the exercise entirely yet," Jiraiya explained. "You know what to do, but you haven't been conditioned to do it repeatedly. Work on the second stage a bit more and then I'll teach you the third and final step."

"Hai..." answered Naruto.

"Now then, since there's no use on you continuing working on the Rasengan, how about we work on a Fuuton Jutsu," said Jiraiya.

* * *

Another thing that had happened before Naruto had left Konoha was Kakashi stepping up his and Sakura's training. Namely, elemental training. He had admitted to having resignations about showing them such an advanced technique reserved for higher ranking Chuunin and Jounin, but he thought they could use it.

Kakashi had already shown and worked a lot with Sasuke over the month break during the finals of the Chuunin Exam. Once more the Uchiha prodigy had been full of surprises, having not one, but two elemental affinities. Lightning and Fire, and the latter element wasn't even the Uchiha's primary affinity, much to Kakashi's surprise.

Sakura had, unsurprisingly had no affinities. Kakashi told her it wasn't unexpected and that's why most people weren't taught elemental training until they had attained Jounin status as even many Chuunin did not have an affinity for a particular element.

When he asked about it later to Iruka at Ichiraku's, Iruka had confirmed what Kakashi had said and admitted that even he did not have a particular elemental affinity.

However, surprising was an understatement for the Kazama heir. Naruto, like Sasuke, had two affinities, Wind and Dark. Kakashi got a contemplative look on his face, but he was as confused as they were. Kakashi had figured with the Mortal and Darkness Flames, that at least ONE of Naruto's affinities would have been Fire, but that wasn't the case...

* * *

"_You're all here... Great, but I'm afraid Naruto is going to have to cut out early today because he's been specifically requested for a mission of upmost importance."_

"_SUGOI!" shouted Naruto, "I am Konoha's number one Genin! Eat that Sasuke!"_

"_Naruto, shut-up!" Sakura shouted in retaliation._

"_**Shannaro! How come he gets to go on the super cool mission!"**__ complained Inner Sakura._

_Sasuke merely rolled his eyes in annoyance while Kakashi ignored the entire byplay._

"_Now, these are specially treated slips of paper that when you channel chakra through them, they will show you what your elemental affinity is," said Kakashi. "Now, don't be dismayed if you don't have one yet, many don't develop one until they're a few years older than you, though some have multiple affinities. I myself have an affinity for water, lightning and fire. Haku has an affinity for both wind and water, as well as the ability to mix the two together to form an entirely different element and manipulate it to a degree on par with the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages."_

"_What did Sasuke-teme get?" asked Naruto._

"_Fire and Lightning, dobe." answered Sasuke smugly._

"_Which is highly irregular in itself..." said Kakashi. "Most shinobi and kunoichi don't even gain a second affinity until after they've become Jounin."_

"_What affinities did my Tou-san have Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto._

"_Lightning and Fire, like Sasuke," answered Kakashi._

"_So... Does that mean that's what my affinity is going to be the same as Sasuke's?" asked Naruto._

"_An excellent question, Naruto, however, one there is no clear answer to," Kakashi told them._

"_What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura curiously._

"_It's not certain what actually decides what elemental affinity a person develops. Many have speculated that it's a person's personality, their parentage, and various other theories, however... All of them have been proven true and false time and again," explained Kakashi. "If two shinobi parents have a water affinity, it is likely their child COULD receive the same affinity, but there have been some cases where the child's primary affinity is another element, like fire. In Konoha, only the Uchiha Clan has been known to consistently pass down the an elemental affinity from generation to generation, with few notable exceptions. However, because their ninjutsu training is mostly of the fire element, all Uchiha, if they don't have it as their primary, will at least have the fire element as a secondary affinity, which is why Sasuke has two affinities. It's speculated that their affinity with fire is a part of the Uchiha bloodline, much like the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai, because the majority of the Uchiha who did not have fire as their primary affinity did not develop the Sharingan. As Sasuke proves, however, that is not always true. On another note, the Uchiha Clan has had no recorded records of any member of their clan possessing the wind affinity."_

"_So... How do these things work?" asked Naruto._

"_Just channel a small fraction of your chakra into the card. Typically, the card will do one of five things depending on the affinity you have. If the paper burns, you have fire; it gets wet, water; crumples, earth; crinkles, lightning; and splits in half, wind. Sasuke, if you could demonstrate..."_

_Sasuke channeled his chakra into his card and immediately the card crinkled halfway before it began to burn._

"_As you can see, first, it crinkled, signifying the lightning element as his primary affinity, then it began to burn signifying that he also has an affinity for fire as well," explained Kakashi._

"_What is so significant about having an elemental affinity?" asked Sakura._

"_It shows what element you're able to manipulate the easiest, or in other words, the type of jutsu that you would have the easiest time of learning and mastering," said Kakashi, "In short, if you had five ninjutsu of five different elements that were roughly the same power and took the same amount of chakra to use and you have an affinity for fire, the fire jutsu would use the least amount of chakra to perform and would be the strongest for you, however the water jutsu would take the most chakra to perform and would be significantly weaker than the other jutsu of the remaining elements. The lightning, earth and wind jutsus would remain at roughly the same power and have the same chakra requirements. The majority of shinobi here in Konoha have an affinity for fire, though there are a good number of people who have an affinity for earth and more than a few with water. In recent years, the amount of lightning affinities have grown in number as well, however a wind affinity in Konoha is extremely rare. In fact, I know of only two people with a wind affinity in Konoha and those are Sarutobi Asuma and the Sandaime."_

"_Kakashi-sensei... You said that having a certain affinity made some jutsu easier to use while others were harder, does that mean each affinity has their own strengths and weaknesses?" asked Sakura, "Or any specific usages?"_

"_Very astute observation Sakura and you are correct in your assumptions," praised Kakashi, "Each element has jutsu for both offense and defense and nearly everything in between, however, Doton and Suiton jutsu are primarily for defense, while Katon and Fuuton jutsu are mainly for offense. Raiton jutsu tend to be more balanced. Also, certain elements are more powerful than others. Fire burns Wind; Water drenches Fire; Lightning is conducted by Water; Earth grounds Lightning; and finally, Wind cuts Earth."_

_Naruto thought for a moment then frowned. "What about Haku's Ice Jutsu? Or the Mortal and Darkness Flames?"_

"_Not much is really known about sub-elements like Haku's Ice, Gaara's Sand, or the Shodaime's Wood elements," lectured Kakashi, "However, while it is possible- with a significant amount of training- for a regular shinobi to use jutsu of those types, manipulation of such elements is strictly reserved for those who hold a kekkei genkai. Even less is known about the type of Chakra that makes the Mortal and Darkness Flames. It's assumed that one element is Fire, but it's hard to say really. Any other questions?"_

_All three of his pupils remained silent._

"_As you should also be well aware, there a hundreds and thousands of jutsu that don't even have the faintest association with any element," continued Kakashi, "The prime examples being the basic academy jutsu; Henge, Bunshin and Kawarimi; and the more advanced and Kage Bunshin."_

"_Anyways... Naruto I am going to show you the technique I had promised to teach you earlier, after we figure out what elements you and Sakura have," said Kakashi._

"_How do you know if Naruto will be able to use the technique if you don't already know his affinities?" asked Sakura._

"_For one, Sakura, the technique that Jiraiya-sama and I agreed that Naruto should learn next is one of those non-elemental jutsu," said Kakashi, "And Second, just because a person has an affinity for a certain element does not mean that they can not use the element of a jutsu that their affinity is weak to, it's just harder for that person to do so. Which is why I suspect that there are no recorded Fuuton users among the Uchiha. The Uchiha clan, much like the Hyuuga, prided themselves on their strength, as well as their Kekkei Genkai. A Fuuton user within the clan would have been seen as a 'weak link'. The person in question would likely be seen as having some sort of birth defect or handicap because Fire is a superior element to Wind. Of course, finding a Suiton user in the Uchiha Clan is also difficult, but not unheard of. But... That is all speculation as clan internal affairs are kept within the clan and not even the Hokage has any jurisdiction in such matters."_

"_But that's just not right!" protested Naruto with indignation._

_Sasuke frowned, "I've never heard of such a thing, though it does make a lot of sense."_

_Naruto turned to Sasuke with a betrayed look on his face. Before he could speak, Sasuke interrupted him._

"_I know it's wrong, and I don't like it any better than you do Naruto, but if there was anything I remembered in my clan lessons with my father, it was that appearances are everything," said Sasuke, "Not only were the Uchiha strong in terms of fighting but, like the Hyuuga Clan, my clan also had a lot of political influence. Weakness, even perceived weakness over trivial things, such as having a Fuuton user in a Clan of primarily Katon users, would be a weakness that the Uchiha Clan Elders would not want known."_

"_It's not fair, Naruto, but it is a fact of life," said Kakashi, "It is the primary reason why your former classmate, Hinata, struggles with being the Heiress of her clan. She is unusually kind and soft spoken in a clan of reserved and rather cold individuals. Because she is not like them, she is often looked down on as weak, no matter how much the opposite is true. Also, because they are a clan of fighters with their own unique style of fighting and techniques, it is extremely rare to see a Hyuuga to become med-nin, no matter how instrumental their Kekkei Genkai would be in saving lives, and members of the Hyuuga Clan are forbidden to learn techniques in Nin, Tai, and Genjutsu from outside of their clan, with the exception of the basic three all shinobi learn in the academy. Those few Hyuuga who actually do become med-nin have to have special approval from the Hyuuga Council Elders and the Hyuuga Clan Head to undergo medical training."_

"_B-But... That doesn't make sense..." said Naruto, "I asked Neji and Hinata-chan about the techniques Neji used... They said that only the Main Branch were ever taught anything outside of using the Byakugan and the basic Jyuuken fighting style. That means other than those Hyuuga that become med-nins, or belong to the Main Branch, no other Hyuuga learn anything new, they don't get any additional training in... in anything! Those old geezers are actually weakening their clan!"_

"_Precisely, Naruto," agreed Kakashi, "While, overall, the Hyuuga are arguably the strongest clan in Konoha in terms of politics and fighting prowess, a very selective few actually make it to the rank of Jounin. Less than ANY other clan in Konoha. The ones that do are USUALLY Main Branch Members, or med-nin, with few exceptions. If memory serves, Neji's father, Hizashi, was one of the few Hyuuga who were neither to make the rank of full Jounin. It is because of these strict rules that no Hyuuga has even been considered for the title of Hokage, despite their strength."_

_Naruto's fist clenched tightly as he thought about the many injustices of clan life. Kakashi could also tell that both Sasuke and Sakura both had some rather negative feelings about the whole issue as well._

"_Anyway, I did not call you here to talk about clan politics," said Kakashi with a sigh, "Naruto, Sakura, channel your chakra through those cards."_

_Sakura did so first, but nothing happened. She looked at Kakashi with a disappointed look on her face._

"_It appears, that as of yet, you do not have an affinity," noted Kakashi, "Remember Sakura, it is not uncommon for people your age to not have an elemental affinity. Sasuke and myself were the exceptions, not the rule. When I was your age, despite being a Jounin already, I only had an affinity for Lightning, which is why I developed the Chidori. Naruto...?"_

_Naruto channeled some chakra into his card like Sakura had moments before. First the card split in half and then turned black. Naruto looked at Kakashi in confusion. The Jounin could only start at the card in shock. "Sensei...?"_

"_..."_

"_Sasuke...?"_

"_..." the ebony haired boy shrugged while looking intently at Kakashi._

"_Interesting..." Kakashi said at last. "I honestly didn't suspect this to come up..."_

"_Sensei?" asked Sakura._

"_Within a person's body you can often find six different types of chakra within their bodies," explained Kakashi, "Each of these 'pools' of chakra represent an element."_

"_Wait... You said six types... But there are only five elements," interjected Sakura._

"_The sixth one is the chakra pool that you would draw from if you were using a non-elemental jutsu like the basic three or Kage Bunshin," answered Sasuke. "Every person has six different pools of chakra in their bodies. However, none of the pools are exactly equal in size. The bigger the pool, the more of that type of chakra that person has."_

"_As I said before Sakura, it is not uncommon for shinobi and kunoichi your age to not have an affinity because the majority of the jutsu you would learn are non-elemental jutsu," Kakashi added, "This is especially true for you because the majority of the jutsu you have learned are genjutsu."_

"_What about this though...?" asked Naruto, "You never said anything about the paper turning black!"_

"_I honestly hadn't anticipated it," said Kakashi, "In your entire age group, the only one I would have expected this from is Shikamaru, due to his clan jutsu, though that would have been unlikely."_

"_A shadow element?" asked Sakura._

"_Close," Kakashi commented, "There are two other chakra types that aren't normally taught as almost no one in any of the elemental countries can actually use them. Not even the Sandaime. Those are the Light and Dark Chakra. Naruto's primary elemental affinity is wind, but his second is Dark. I have to admit Naruto, I am totally out of my depth on how to train you. I only have a small repertoire of Fuuton jutsu and no Myouton (Dark Release) jutsu what-so-ever."_

"_What about the Nara Clan?" asked Sasuke._

"_While it is true that they do use Dark chakra to manipulate shadows for their Clan Jutsu, they have absolutely no knowledge as to how to actually manipulate Dark Chakra directly and because Naruto is not a Nara he can not learn their Jutsu, nor can the Sandaime force them to teach him."_

"_It's not like their jutsu would do me any good, my fighting style is way too different from theirs," commented Naruto._

"_You call what you do a 'fighting style'?" asked Sasuke sarcastically._

"_Whatever... Bastard..." mumbled Naruto._

"_Now, now... Gentlemen..." said Kakashi waving his hands to placate his genin before they started a fight. "Naruto, I will talk to Asuma and see if he can't help you out in learning a bit of Wind manipulation."_

_Naruto nodded._

"_Now, for that jutsu I promised you," said Kakashi. "Both Jiraiya-sama and I both agreed that you are ready for this."_

"_Is it anything like the Chidori?" asked Naruto excitedly._

"_Yes and no..." answered Kakashi. "The Chidori came about because I was trying to add elemental manipulation to this jutsu. But because of the flaws in the Chidori only one possessing the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai could ever use it to its full potential. I am going to show you the first of your father's personal jutsu, the Rasengan. An 'A'-Rank, sealless jutsu that can not be copied by the Sharingan. It is the one jutsu that I swore, after I learned it, in honor of Arashi-sensei, that I would never use in battle, nor would I ever teach it to anyone. However, since you are sensei's son, I don't consider this breaking my oath as it is your birthright. The only other person who can use this jutsu is Jiraiya-sama and he'll show you the next two stages if I am unavailable."_

"_Huh? Stages?" asked Naruto._

_Kakashi chuckled in amusement. "Yes, stages. This jutsu should keep you occupied for quite sometime. I doubt even you could learn this jutsu in the manner of a few hours. It is much different than any other jutsu you have ever seen. Observe."_

_They watched as an orb of Chakra formed in Kakashi's hand and didn't take their eyes off of the orb of pure, light blue chakra as Kakashi slammed it in a tree, practically ripping it to shreds._

"_Rasengan!"_

_The three of them were utterly speechless._

"_Sugoi!" shouted Naruto as he jumped up into the air pumping his fist. "That was totally awesome!"_

'_Some old knucklehead...' thought Kakashi, smiling under his mask. "As I am sure you noticed, that was all pure chakra manipulation. The reason I created the Chidori was because I was attempting to use the same principles of the Rasengan using elemental chakra. While it is possible to manipulate and shape elemental chakra, there are severe limitations that have never been overcome. With the exception of certain jutsu like Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Dragon Bullet Technique) and Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone) it is relatively impossible to shape elemental chakra. Now then, Sakura, Sasuke, go over some Chakra Control exercises while I show Naruto the first step in this jutsu."_

_Naruto and Kakashi then left to another clearing in the forest while Sasuke and Sakura began their training._

"_So... Now what?" asked Naruto curiously._

"_First... You must pop a balloon filled with water," said Kakashi lazily._

_Naruto growled. "I know it isn't that simple, so quit trying to act all 'cool and mysterious'. It's annoying enough when Sasuke does it!"_

"_Actually it is that simple, well... The instructions are in any case... The actual task is rather difficult," conceded Kakashi before he pulled out a scroll. "Now, considering the company you've kept recently, I assume you learned about storage scrolls and seals?"_

_Naruto nodded._

"_Good," Kakashi said as he unfurled the and nicked his thumb. He smeared the scroll with his blood and then placed his palm on the seal. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

_From the scroll, two balloons appeared. Kakashi tossed one to the three-eyed blonde Jinchuuriki._

"_As I said before, you must pop the balloon, using chakra only," said Kakashi. "The purpose of this exercise is to teach you how to not only manipulate and mold your chakra, but also to teach you how to spin your chakra. As a bonus, it also helps improve your chakra control. Observe."_

_Naruto watched as the balloon started to shake and start stretching out in multiple directions. Then the balloon suddenly exploded. "That is what I want you to do."_

"_Looks kinds easy to me," said Naruto unimpressed._

"_If you say so... Why don't you give it a try?"_

_Naruto gripped the balloon in his hand, focusing on it intently, but all he had succeeded in doing was look constipated._

"_Problems with your bowel movements, Naruto?" Kakashi mockingly asked, though Naruto barely heard him._

"_What sensei?" asked Naruto confusedly._

"_Nothing, Naruto..." replied Kakashi, "As you can see, it most definitely not as easy as you thought. You're lacking focus."_

"_What do you mean, I'm focusing on the balloon!" replied Naruto indignantly._

"_That's your problem, Naruto. The secret is not to focus on the big picture as a whole, but a small portion of it, and then summoning up your chakra, spinning it around the focus point," Kakashi lectured. "Now then... You have a big day tomorrow. So why don't you start getting ready for your trip with Jiraiya-sama."_

"_Wait... Who!?" exclaimed Naruto, "Why am I going with... That... THAT PERVERT!!"_

"_Who else did you think specifically requested you?" asked Kakashi, "The Council has set him on a task, but he wouldn't accept unless you were to come along."_

"_B-But... He... He's... Such an Ero-Sennin! He even openly admits it! HE'S EVEN PROUD OF IT!" shouted Naruto in protest._

"_You know, most people would consider it an honor to be requested to accompany one of the Sannin on a mission," said Kakashi, "I'm sure Sakura..."_

"_NO!!" shouted Naruto, "I'll go, there is NO way in HELL, that PERVERT is going near her or any other of my girl friends!"_

"_Girlfriends, Naruto?" asked Kakashi smugly._

"_Err... Wait! That's not what I meant... My friends that are girls!" shouted Naruto before storming away muttering about stupid pervert senseis._

* * *

"Oi! Ero-Sennin... said Naruto.

"What, Gaki?" asked Jiraiya tiredly. They had stopped and set up camp for the night and were currently sitting around the campfire, Jiraiya engrossed in his writings while Naruto was waiting the three minutes for his ramen to cook.

"You never did mention why this Tsunade-baa-chan person was so important to find..." Naruto said with a frown.

"Well, I suppose first and foremost she's a healer," said Jiraiya, "She's the greatest med-nin in the entire Elemental Countries, and with all the casualties in Konoha, we could really use her help. Let's not forget that she's the only one that can heal that arm of yours."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Then there's the case of Sarutobi-sensei," said Jiraiya.

"W-What about Ojii-san?" asked Naruto worriedly.

"That blade of Orochimaru's, the Kusanagi, has a specialized poison that the med-nin in Konoha have been unable to deal with." Jiraiya sadly informed him.

Naruto couldn't help but frown, "What about Genkai-oban? She did a pretty good job on my arm."

"She tried. The poison is beyond even her considerable abilities," said Jiraiya, "She was only able to slow it down or else the Sandaime would be dead already. Genkai may have some impressive healing techniques, but you have to remember that she's a fighter first and foremost."

"Ero-Sennin..."

Jiraiya hummed in response.

"Is... Is Ojii-san... Is he going to be all right?" Naruto asked with a nervousness that was very unlike himself.

Jiraiya thought over what he would/should tell his new apprentice. He finally decided on a small modicum of truth. "I don't know Gaki... It's hard to say. We're pretty much racing against the clock on this one..."

Naruto nodded and then stood.

"Gaki... Where are you going?"

"To train..."

Jiraiya sighed, "Don't be out too late..."

"Hai."

* * *

The next morning found Jiraiya and Naruto out on the road once more, Naruto finishing up mastering the second stage of the Rasengan.

"Alright Gaki, here is the Next step of the Rasengan," Jiraiya unsealed another balloon, this one filled with air instead of water.

Naruto frowned. "I've already popped balloons filled with water and rubber balls filled with air, I don't think popping a balloon filled with air is going to be very hard Ero-Sennin..."

"Ah, but watch..." Jiraiya said.

"Nothings happening..." Naruto said after a few moments.

Jiraiya smirked. "This is happening."

He opened up his left hand and formed a Rasengan.

"That is the third exercise, forming the Rasengan in your hand WITHOUT breaking the balloon," Jiraiya lectured. "The first exercise was all about forming your Chakra, learning to focus it on a central point. The second was all power, gathering up a large portion of your energy and further strengthening your ability to focus. The third step is all about finesse and control. It's good that you can shape chakra, and even better than you can shape a lot of it, but it means nothing without the necessary control to unleash it."

"That makes sense, I guess..." said Naruto.

"You don't quite understand yet, do you?" said Jiraiya, "You almost do, but you're the type that does well by seeing and doing, rather than being told. So I'm going to show you the difference on what I'm talking about."

Jiraiya walked to a nearby tree.

"This is a first stage Rasengan, it's just enough chakra to burst the balloon," Jiraiya told him, "Observe. Rasengan!"

Naruto watched as Jiraiya pushed the attack into the tree, to no avail. All there was a small bit of scraping and tons of scratches. He then walked to the tree next to it.

"Here is the second stage. Rasengan!"

Jiraiya thrust the attack into the tree and Naruto could see the incomplete attack eating away into the wood. Naruto was wide-eyed after seeing the devastation of the attack into the tree.

"Sugoi..." he whispered at the spiral that was now engraved into the tree.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet Gaki," said Jiraiya confidently going to the next tree, "This is after you've mastered the third stage. Rasengan!"

Naruto didn't see much difference in the second and third attacks as Jiraiya drilled into the tree. However, Naruto then caught the difference as Jiraiya's Rasengan had gotten to the point in the tree that the second one had and kept going. He was simply amazed when the tree began to crack and then practically exploded, the top half of the tree was gone.

"That is the difference between the first, second and third stages of the Rasengan," said Jiraiya. "Not bad, eh?"

"Not bad... That... Was... TOTALLY AWESOME!" shouted Naruto excitedly.

"Good. Now get to work!" ordered Jiraiya tossing a balloon at Naruto.

"I'll have this mastered in no time!" declared Naruto.

"Good, but work and move, we have a lot of ground to cover and very little time to do it in," said Jiraiya.

Reminding Naruto of their time limit quickly sapped whatever excitement he had in him. A true testament to the depth of his caring for the old man. Naruto immediately began to work on mastering the third stage in silence as they continued walking towards the next city.

* * *

"Th-That damn Gaki..." rasped Orochimaru. "I want him dead..."

Kabuto frowned at his master, "Orochimaru-dono... Are you sure that's wise? After all, he is being targeted by... Them. It's only recently that they've stopped tracking our movements. Are you sure it's wise to raise their ire towards us by killing their primary target?"

"I have never been more sure about anything..." said Orochimaru in a pained voice. "The Jinchuuriki must die."

"Shall I send out assassins, Orochimaru-dono?" asked Kabuto.

"No... Not yet... Despite his transgressions, he is still of use to us," the Serpent Sannin replied, "Prepare my next vessel... This body will not hold much longer..."

"Hai, Orochimaru-dono..." said Kabuto with a bow before he left Orochimaru's chambers.

* * *

"Sakura..." said Ino worriedly as she approached her former best friend.

"Hey, Ino," she greeted cheerfully before her face took on a serious expression seeing Ino's fidgeting. "What's wrong?"

"Err... Umm..." Ino wasn't sure about who to phrase what she wanted to ask. "It's about Naruto..."

Sakura sighed. "Listen, Ino-pig. I already told you, if there is anything you want to know about Naruto, ask him yourself."

"But he's not here! And I don't know how he'll react to what I have to ask him..." said Ino.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. 'Ino couldn't possibly mean...'

"**Sasuke-kun is all mine! Shannaro!"** shouted Inner Sakura while pumping her fist up and down.

Seeing Sakura's look of astonishment, Ino decided to be blunt. "Does Kazama Naruto have a demon inside of him?"

Of all the questions Sakura thought Ino would/could ask, this was definitely the least likely one she thought she'd hear. Even Ino asking Naruto on a date, however unlikely, seemed more probable.

* * *

"Ero-Sennin... If it's not women, it's sake! Can't you control yourself for at least a day!" complained an angry and annoyed Naruto.

"I have plenty of self control," protested Jiraiya.

"You just never use it..." Naruto mumbled angrily.

"Yeah, well my "drunken lecherous ways", as you call them, just found us our objective, Gaki," said Jiraiya, pointing towards the woman with pigtails sitting with a shorthaired brunette with a pig.

"Jiraiya..." the blonde said as they approached.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Tsunade...?"

_A/N: And that's it for Chapter 15! I should be posting the failed attempts of this chapter in the Archive rejects in a few days. Well, I'll catch you all on the flip side! Ja Ne!_


	16. Secrets and Old Memories, The Search for

_A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, and Children of ALL AGES! M2J proudly brings to you..._

_CHAPTER SIXTEEN OF UKG: THE JAGAN! You all know you want it, and FINALLY after the release of my latest fic, **Ultimate Wizard: Legacy of the Force**, the newest update to my other fics has FINALLY arrived as I've been promising since last November._

_Believe it or not, but I'm pretty close to updating my other fics too, and I mean ALL of them; **Weapon-X**, **Rei Shinobi**, **Magnetism**, even **Dimensional Destruction** looks like it's about ready as well- not to mention I have a few **'Rejects'** waiting in the wings._

_I hope you're all pysched, because I now I sure as hell am!_

_Now, as with tradition, I will answer a few reviews before we press on._

* * *

**_weixun18:_ **_Yeah, I was particularly fond of that part myself. Thought it was funny as hell and couldn't resist using it._

_**Anonymus:** *sigh* I'm sure I've stated this dozens of times, not only in author notes for this fic, but in one or two others I'm sure... I am WELL aware that the Yondaime Hokage's name is Namikaze Minato and NOT Kazama Arashi. However, I was already on something like Chapter 10 or 11 by the time Kishimoto revealed that fact. So, for the time being, for this fic at least, the Yondaime will be Kazama Arashi._

_**Lyonnyte:** Spirit Gun is a no. Spirit Bomb is a Hell No. In **UD: Rei Shinobi** on the other hand... Wait and see..._

_**zesty cyanide **and **ViperineVampire: **Go back and read the Author's notes from Chapter 14._

_**Bahizret:** There will be a mini-arc that talks about where the Jagan came from._

_**asdf:** It also translates into Dragon King, which is why I used that instead. As for your other review, Naruto gained the Jagan until the end of the Wave Arc, everything similar that happened in canon and this fic, were already set in motion before Naruto and co. came back, so there isn't really all that much reason for too much to change at that point. The story will diverge more and more as the story progresses._

And now... For the rest of the story...

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Sixteen: Secrets and Old Memories... The Search for Tsunade pt 2**

* * *

"Wh-what makes you say such a thing?" asked Sakura nervously. She knew with no small amount of dread that Ino now knew and she was certain it would be out to the rest of the Rookies and others in their generation. 'Naruto... I'm so very sorry...'

"So... It's true... The second chakra I sensed in Naruto..." Ino said in a subdued tone, "Just... Just like Gaara..."

"No! Not like Gaara at all," said Sakura in a serious tone, "Gaara is what Naruto could have become if he didn't have people like the Sandaime and the people at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop."

"B-but how...?" asked Ino, "Who could do such a thing to a person?"

"The Yondaime," Sakura replied quietly.

"N-Naruto's father?" Ino asked incredulously.

"It was the night of the Kyuubi attack Ino, he didn't have much of a choice," Sakura told her friend. "The Kyuubi was power incarnate and to defeat it, the Yondaime used a Fuin Kinjutsu of his own creation to seal the Kyuubi and its' power into Naruto at the cost of his own life."

"It sounds so... Cruel and sad all at the same time..." Ino said sadly.

"Ino, you can't breathe a word about this to ANYONE. We could be executed for even discussing it," Sakura pleaded, "For Naruto's sake... Please."

"I promise, but I'm not the only one who will have figured it out. Shika-kun more than likely has already. If not, he will soon and that Tenten girl already had some clues. If she sits down and thinks through everything that happened, she'll put it together as well," Ino warned Sakura.

"Kuso..." Sakura cursed under her breath.

"**SHANNARO! Why did Naruto have to leave us to deal with this**?" asked Inner Sakura.

* * *

"This Tsunade-baa-chan was your teammate, right, Ero-Sennin?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah," answered Jiraiya.

"So she'd be as old as you... Right?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya nodded in response. "Then shouldn't she... You know... LOOK old. That lady barely looks barely old enough to be my Kaa-san..."

"Trust me, Gaki... She's far older than she looks," Jiraiya replied.

The two made their way over to the female Sannin's table. Along the way, Jiraiya ordered another bottle of Sake and Naruto ordered some tea.

"Hello, Tsunade," greeted Jiraiya somewhat cheerfully as he took a seat at the ladies' table.

"Jiraiya," she returned coldly. The other young woman looked between the two somewhat nervously before regarding the blonde with the white haired Sannin with a warm smile. "You remember Shizune?"

"Of course, who could ever forget such a pretty face?" Jiraiya asked with a small, slightly lecherous, grin. Despite her knowing of his rather... Colorful... Reputation, she blushed.

Jiraiya was nothing, if not charming. The only woman in all of the Elemental Countries who seemed to be completely immune to his charm was the woman the brunette traveled with, the Legendary Healer, Senju Tsunade. "This is my new apprentice... Naruto."

It was then that the new bottle of sake arrived, which was shared by Jiraiya and Tsunade, while Naruto silently drank his tea. In the meantime, Jiraiya and Tsunade had begun a game of cards, Jiraiya dealing.

Tsunade regarded the kid carefully. Something was off about him, but she couldn't place it in her alcohol induced stupor. While not drunk, her brain was fogged enough that some long term memory was affected. "Looks like a charity case to me... I thought you quit taking apprentices after..."

"Naruto is a special case," said Jiraiya as he dealt another hand, "And has the potential to surpass even my former apprentice."

"Doubtful... Shinobi like Arashi only come by once in a generation and more often then not, they die a fool's death," Tsunade replied bitterly. "Let's cut to the chase Ero-baka, what in the hell do you want?"

Jiraiya sighed. "For the short term, I ask that you take a look at the Gaki's arm. He injured it using a new technique he invented."

"Perhaps..." said Tsunade, "What's the long term?"

"To come back to Konohagakure to heal Sensei and become the Godaime Hokage," said Jiraiya unhesitantly.

Shizune looked astonished, but Naruto, whom had been drinking at the time, spit out his tea and began sputtering.

"Wh-What the hell!?" he shouted, "You think you could have said something a little earlier!?"

He glared at Jiraiya menacingly. However, before Jiraiya could answer, Tsunade did.

"No."

Jiraiya merely nodded in understanding, idly looking at his cards. However, Naruto wasn't about to have any of that.

"Why the hell not!?"

"Because even if I had not made a vow to never return to Konohagakure no Sato, the title of Hokage is a shit job and only a fool would dare take up such a useless office."

"And what about Ojii-san? Are you just willing to let him die?"

"Gaki, you live the life of a Shinobi, people die all the time. Get used to it. Besides, you said so yourself, he's old."

Naruto stood up on the bench he and Jiraiya were seated on with a growl, but was forcibly made to sit back down by Jiraiya. Only Shizune saw Naruto's eyes turn crimson red, before returning to an ice blue color. However, they remained slitted.

"You ungrateful old bitch..." Naruto growled. "I could care less about my arm... But Konoha... And Ojii-san NEED you!"

"And what would you know, Gaki," snapped Tsunade, "Konoha is nothing more than a painful memory to me... I care nothing for that ungrateful village!"

Naruto growled menacingly at Tsunade, but the elder woman was not so easily intimidated. He tried lunging at her, but Jiraiya kept him in place. Naruto shrugged off Jiraiya's hand when he calmed down, though Jiraiya kept a close watch over Naruto out of the corner of his eye.

"Let's go Ero-Sennin... We don't need this bitter old lush..." Naruto said bitterly, barely containing his anger. "We'll find someone else... Someone BETTER to heal Ojii-san and become the next Hokage..."

"And what's it matter to you?" Tsunade asked, seemingly barely interested, though the comment about her talents irked her more than she cared to admit.

"Because... Ojii-san... Ojii-san was there for me when no one else was. When I was alone in the orphanage, wondering why no one would adopt me... When I was alone in my apartment with no one to come home to... He's done a lot for me and it's because of that, it's become my goal... My DREAM to become the best damned Hokage there has ever lived and I'll die before I see some old, bitter, ungrateful, drunk become Hokage!" Naruto said fiercely.

"Gaki... You're beginning to get on my nerves..." said Tsunade in a strained voice.

"Like I care. You're just a useless old hag!" Naruto shot back.

"That's it! Let's take this outside!" shouted Tsunade has she slammed her hand on the table, leaving a small dent in it. Even without what Jiraiya had often referred to as 'Tsuande's Freaky Strength', she was still quite strong in her own right.

"Gladly!" retorted Naruto, who had been itching for an excuse to vent out some anger. And while he didn't exactly like hitting the elderly or women, this old bag had it coming. He immediately jumped up and stormed angrily out of the bar, Tsunade not far behind him.

"Jiraiya-sama! Aren't you going to stop them!?" asked Shizune frantically.

"I didn't become a Legendary Shinobi because I was stupid, Shizune-chan," said Jiraiya. "I could never bring back Tsu-hime on my own, which is why I brought my apprentice with me."

"Is he really that powerful?" asked Shizune.

"What?" asked Jiraiya, before it dawned on him what she assumed. He then began laughing hysterically. "There is no way he could beat Tsu-hime... Not even on her worst days, especially with his arm in the condition that it's in."

"B-but... Then... Why!?" Shizune sputtered.

"Look at her, when was the last time you've seen a fire like that in her eyes?" asked Jiraiya. "The kid has a special power over people, much like his mother did. She pulled me from my abyss and now the gaki's going to do the same for her."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was doing what he always did, he was training. He soared through the air, eyes closed, spinning. He flung his arms out and dozens of shuriken were sent hurdling towards their respective targets.

As he landed, he surveyed his work.

Almost perfect.

He scowled. That girl he fought in the preliminaries was far above him in what he considered one of his specialties. His marksmanship was something he prided himself in, long before he learned the Goukakyuu. It was something that Itachi had actually spent a lot of time teaching him and helping him refine before he went on to try and earn his father's approval by learning the Uchiha Rite of Passage Jutsu.

This made Sasuke scowl.

Itachi...

Everything came back to Itachi, everything. The man who took everything away from him was so ingrained in his memories, the good, the bad and the absolutely horrifying. He couldn't get away from it. Even the visions he had while delirious from the cursed seal had forced him to relive that horrifying night.

Sasuke sighed.

Why? How could Itachi do what he did? He was their crown jewel, the most praised Uchiha since Madara. How could he do that to those who loved him, who held him up as a standard to which all Uchiha; ninja, police force, and civilian; should live up to? Why?

His brother had always been distant. Had been different from the clan, but he had always cared. He had always shown it when it mattered and had been there for Sasuke when even their own father either could or would not. So how could he do it to them? To him?

Nothing ever made sense these days.

For that, he cursed Naruto. The dobe, since gaining his own kekkei genkai and reluctantly revealing his status as a Jinchuuriki, had made Sasuke question many things he hadn't considered. It was nothing the dobe said or did, at least, not consciously, but it was there, always at the back of Sasuke's mind.

He had been forced to reevaluate Naruto. That had forced him to reevaluate many other things. The ideas he had about teamwork, Sakura, friendship and countless others... Even Itachi and his quest for power. All these self doubts...

Something wasn't adding up and he couldn't figure out why.

Pushing it from his mind, he examined his handiwork once more. Of fifteen shuriken, twelve were bulls-eyes, one had been close, another had been decent and the other had barely hit the outer ring of the target.

He had to admit, though he had beat her, she was far superior with throwing weapons than he was. Had he not been able to outsmart her, he'd have definitely have lost the match. Something he didn't like to admit, even if it was to himself.

That was another thing.

After the dobe's comments, and his thrashing at the hands of Rock Lee, he never would have contemplated her as a competent opponent. He'd have seen himself as superior and she unworthy to even fight in the same arena as him, let alone the same match. His victory over her would have only have reinforced this view. The only one's he would have been eager to fight would have been Gaara, Rock Lee (only because the boy had beaten him) and Hyuuga Neji.

Now... It had been as if something had changed, as if HE had changed.

Of these many changes none were more apparent that his attitude towards Sakura.

He no longer saw her as a useless nuisance. A bit annoying, and still incredibly weak when compared to himself and the dobe, but not useless. Really, when she wasn't fawning over him, he found her presence tolerable. Not that he'd ever tell her that. He'd be forced to retract that statement immediately if she knew that he actually did prefer her over the rest of his fangirls, even if it wasn't in the way she wanted.

Still, he considered her a great friend right along with the dobe...

Friend...

The term made him smile and tremble all at once. It gave him a warmness he never thought he'd feel again in the aftermath of the deaths of his parents and the rest of his clan. A feeling he swore, he promised himself he'd never feel so long as Itachi was at large and his betrayal yet unpunished.

A feeling that scared him.

He held no delusions of the distance between his and Itachi's skill, strength and power levels.

Sasuke was twelve, almost thirteen. While he was hailed as a prodigy, he felt anything but. Mostly because he had seen and lived in the shadow of a true prodigy. By the time Itachi was his age, his older brother had passed the exams for and been promoted to Chuunin and Jounin AND had been admitted into Konoha's elite Anbu and was preparing to accept his commission as a captain. The man had killed an entire clan of some of Konoha's most elite warriors and had managed to slip out of the village undetected in the span of a single evening and no one even had a clue until the next morning.

If nothing could stop him then, what about now? What would stop him from taking the little bit of happiness Sasuke had finally gained? What would stop him from disrupting the small modicum of peace he had desired for so long?

The thought terrified him.

Though Sasuke knew all of this, he had never taken any of it into account before. His reevaluations had made him question himself, his motives and his entire being. He had been so focused on acquiring power by any means necessary that he never stopped to think why, how or if. Not once had he questioned whether or not he'd actually be able to actually fulfill his ambition, his quest of righteous vengeance. Now... He wasn't so sure and that left a sour taste in his mouth.

It was with new resolve that he used these self doubts to bolster his determination, to fuel his drive and push him further past his own limits than he thought possible. But would it be enough?

Sasuke didn't know and didn't want to think about it. It was what it was and that's all that he had. He had precious people now, as Haku would put it, and he had to protect them at all costs. He couldn't let his... Friends... Suffer as he had. Even if it cost him everything, his life, his soul and his friends, if need be, he would make sure Itachi would not hurt them as he had hurt Sasuke the night of the Uchiha Massacre.

'Damn Naruto...' Sasuke thought with gritted teeth.

His thoughts turned to his fellow doujutsu user. Sure they didn't have the same one, but the blonde Jinchuuriki still had one.

The blonde was insufferable, aggravating, annoying, and a bothersome pest. It still didn't stop him from being the Uchiha's best and closest friend or from being one of the few in their age group the Uchiha actually respected.

Naruto was persistent as all hell and loyal to a fault. A fault Sasuke knew he was going to exploit. Sasuke had one of two choices to make, one of two paths he could follow. As much as he wanted to achieve the power his brother had, he wasn't so sure he could allow himself to achieve it as his brother did.

And it was for that reason that Sasuke was going to do something that he would have never even considered a few weeks ago. He was going to coerce a promise out of Naruto, as soon as the blonde returned, to finish what Sasuke started should he fail in the course of fulfilling his ambition.

He knew he shouldn't. His Uchiha honor demanded that it be he himself that avenges those killed by Itachi on that night. However, his loss to Gaara had forced him to consider what would happen should he fail. His own pride demanded that they be avenged by any means necessary. Even if Sasuke couldn't do it himself, Itachi's crimes could not go unpunished and Naruto was the only one Sasuke was absolutely sure could succeed should he fail.

Sasuke was brought out of his musings as he was approached by two individuals. Though he was surprised to see them, he wasn't at the same time. After Sakura's conversation with the Yamanaka fangirl (though whose fangirl she was at this point was debatable, much to Sasuke's relief), he knew it was coming.

Before him stood Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru.

"What do you what?" he asked them rudely in an emotionless, even tone. Even if he had changed, even just a little, he had to maintain appearances.

"To ask some questions and confirm some suspicions," replied Shino in an equally even tone.

"Ino's been acting less troublesome since she talked to Sakura yesterday and that had been even more troublesome," said Shikamaru with a yawn. "And we think it has to do with the Chuunin Exams."

"And why would I care?" asked Sasuke as he began to pull his shuriken out of their targets and back into his pouch.

"Because we suspect it has to do with your teammate," Shino spoke up again.

"They fight all the time," said Sasuke bluntly, "What she and Sakura fight about is none of my concern."

Shikamaru sighed as Shino pushed his glasses higher onto his nose.

"That is true, however, we have reason to believe the content of their discussion yesterday was not their usual topic," said Shino. "But your other teammate, Naruto."

"Hn..." Sasuke grunted.

"We were there for his fight against Gaara, and while we couldn't hear everything, we got enough to put some pieces together," said Shikamaru.

He knew this was coming. But knowing didn't necessarily mean he was exactly ready for it. Why couldn't all these nosy people ask the dobe about this? Oh yeah, he was out of the village. Not for the first time that day did he have the same recurring thought.

'Damn Naruto...'

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama... How is your new body responding? Well, I hope?" asked Kabuto, pushing his glasses further up on his face as he entered the room. He immediately went to a console and began taking readings.

"As well as could be expected," replied the Snake Sannin, as he sat wrapped in bandages, "Though I would have much preferred the Uchiha's body to be my new host..."

"It couldn't be helped. Not with the extensive damage done to your body," stated Kabuto.

"I already know that, Kabuto," snapped Orochimaru, "And to think that gaki managed to damage me so extensively... I'll have to be wary of him. He is not to be underestimated."

"Surely you don't think he is a match for you Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto curiously, a disbelieving tone in his voice.

"No, it would take years of training to match up to me in skill," Orochimaru easily answered, however he was a bit reluctant to continue with the next part. "However... In terms of sheer power... He may surpass even Jiraiya..."

"Impressive..." Kabuto honestly remarked, "Though not unexpected considering who he is."

"No, but he is more trouble than he should be and far more than he is worth," said Orochimaru, "It is fortunate for us he can not control the massive power that lays at his command. We must ensure that he is utterly destroyed before he can learn to effectively harness it."

"What do you suggest, Orochimaru-sama?"

* * *

"All right! Just because you're old and a woman doesn't mean I'm going to hold back on you!" shouted Naruto.

"As if you could harm me!" Tsunade scoffed, "There's a huge difference between you and me, gaki!"

"Yeah! You're nothing but a drunk, washed up old hag!" shouted Naruto angrily, "And I WILL be Hokage... A Hokage everyone can be proud of..."

"Like you have it in you to be Hokage," said Tsunade, "You're just some punk, no-name kid. Give me your reason... Tell me WHY you want to be Hokage and if you give me a good enough reason AND are able to land a hit on me... Then I'll acknowledge that you MIGHT have what it takes to become Hokage!"

Naruto was glaring daggers at Tsunade. "At first... At first it was because I wanted to be like Ojii-san and the Yondaime... Everyone loved and respected them... But... I've grown up since then... I've learned not only what it means to be Hokage but to be a shinobi of Konoha. I WILL become Hokage to protect MY precious people... To protect the villagers... To protect EVERYONE... Because I'm KAZAMA Naruto, and it is my ambition, no... MY dream to become the GREATEST Hokage in history!"

Naruto slowly worked himself into quite a fury, through it all, the center of his headband began to glow. However, at the end of his speech, the Jagan, with a flash, incinerated the headband as Naruto's hair stood straight up in the front.

In Tsunade's surprise, she watched as Naruto's muscles tensed before he started to glow with an unworldly aura of purple chakra and then suddenly completely vanish.

She was, however, able to react accordingly when Naruto reappeared above her, bringing his sword down at her head. She caught the blade with her index and middle fingers of her left hand. She then redirected the blow. However, as she did this, Naruto's own left hand sped through the required six handseals that had recently become his new signature move.

"Goukaton: Inochi Enkou no Kobushi!" Naruto used the momentum to launch his fist at Tsunade, who promptly moved her head out of his flaming fist's path.

Using the momentum, he continued to spin launching a well placed kick with his left foot. However, Tsunade was able to block it with little effort. She casually knocked his foot away when Naruto drew his second katana.

Seeing it was broken, Tsunade half heartedly tried to dodge.

'Pathetic...' Was the thought that ran through her mind.

She was completely caught off guard when she heard...

"Kenjutsu: Myou Enkou no Ken!" Naruto shouted with righteous fury. Suddenly his shattered katana flared to life with black fire and somehow had regained it's full length. There was no chance for her to dodge...

Suddenly, Naruto found himself flying through the air and into a food cart.

Tsunade snapped out of the trance she had been put in when she had been saved from certain death. In place where the gaki had been, was the fist of her former teammate, Jiraiya.

"How... How _dare_ you interfere!" shouted Naruto angrily.

"You were taking it too far! You almost killed her with that jutsu," snapped Jiraiya.

"Serves her right! If she won't help Konoha, she might as well be a traitor," shouted Naruto, "I don't see why you care Ero-Sennin... She doesn't care about anything but herself."

"You're out of line, Naruto," Jiraiya scolded him sternly.

"Whatever... Like her, I don't care..." Naruto snapped. He then picked up the shattered remains of his father's sword and began to leave. "Don't wait up for me..." And with that he began to walk away.

"Jiraiya-sama?" asked Shizune uncertainly.

"He'll be fine. He just needs time to cool off, he's had a lot on his mind lately," replied Jiraiya. "Personally, I've been expecting it for a while now. With all the stuff going on in Konoha not to mention his training, I'm actually surprised it didn't happen sooner."

"B-but..." Shizune began.

"If it makes you feel better, you can go after him," said Jiraiya, "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself too badly."

"Hai, Jiraiya-sama," bowed Shizune as she went off in the same direction Naruto left in.

Jiraiya looked over to the still silent Tsunade. She was still spaced out, staring off in the direction that both of their apprentices had left in.

"C'mon, Tsu-hime, we've got to talk," said Jiraiya gently, taking her by the arm.

She gave no resistance. "Sure..."

* * *

Shizune could only gasp as she found Naruto in the middle of a rock outcropping. His robe had been discarded and he was kneeling as chakra surged all around him. His Jagan was glowing brightly and black lightning surged up and down his heavily bandaged right arm. She took special note of his arm, remembering Jiraiya-sama had mentioned something about it earlier.

Still, the sheer amount of pure power being emitted from the boy was staggering. She wasn't sure if she'd ever felt anything this potent from her master. Jiraiya-sama, yes; Orochimaru, perhaps; but Tsunade, no...

But all things considered... Both his bloodline and the Kyuubi especially, it was hardly surprising that the boy would contain so much raw power. But that's all it was, was raw, untamed, uncontrolled power. It was a furious maelstrom of feelings and emotions. It made Shizune feel safe and afraid all at once. The boy certainly lived up to the name left to him by his parents.

Naruto lifted his bandaged arm, black lightning surging through it erratically. Shizune then noticed the seals on it, but they didn't appear to be any sort of medicinal seals that she recognized.

'What type of seals are those?' She asked herself, 'What purpose do they serve?'

She watched as a large amount of chakra was concentrated into that hand and began to take form. Her eyes widened in recognition as she saw the shape become an oddly shaped orb, before it burst.

"Kuso!" he shouted in frustration. He then punched the ground with his bandaged hand as hard as he could, multiple times. "Kuso! Kuso!"

When he stopped, he clutched his arm close to his body. And closed his eyes in pain. She was pretty sure he'd broken his hand.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Fine," was his rather pained, but abrupt answer.

"But your hand..."

"It refused to do as I told it, so I decided to beat it," replied Naruto with a small smile. It was obvious he was still in considerable pain.

"That... Can't be healthy..." said Shizune in concern, "What is Jiraiya-sama teaching these days?"

"I just over stressed the arm," said Naruto, when a jolt of black lightning shot up his arm. Naruto then yelped in pain and clutched his arm again.

"Let me look at it," said Shizune, "I'm not as good as Tsunade-sama, but I should be able to do something for it."

"Give me a sec," replied Naruto, who then started to careful take the seals off of his bandages.

"Naruto-kun... Those seals... I don't recognize them, what are they for?" asked Shizune.

"Containment," he answered.

"Containment?" she repeated questioningly.

"I used this jutsu and it messed up my arm," Naruto told her, "Genkai-oban said it damaged my soul. She tried to heal it, but I guess whatever she did wasn't enough, because I can't control the amount of power in my arm anymore." Purplish black flames burst out of the bandages as Naruto took yet another seal off and he yelled out in pain again. "She gave me these special bandages and her and Ero-Sennin placed all of those seals on them to help hold the dragon back."

"Dragon?" Shizune asked, both confused and interested. After Naruto pulled off all of the lesser seals he braced himself for the releasing of the main control seal. Once he ripped it off, black flames erupted from his bandage and black lightning surged up and down his arm once more. The bandages instantly fell off and Naruto clenched his right fist against the black lightning, seemingly trying to bring it under his control.

As the black lightning calmed down, Shizune saw the translucent dragon tattoo that ran up the entire length of Naruto's forearm, wrapping around it.

"Sugoi..." whispered Shizune, looking at the tattoo and feeling the power it radiated, despite being consciously restrained by the blonde shinobi. Doing a few handseals, she began to use a diagnostic jutsu on Naruto's arm. 'Such damage... The pain must be incredible...'

"It's amazing you can even use that arm with the amount of pain you must be in," Shizune commented.

"It only hurts when I take the seals off," said Naruto, "When I first used the jutsu, I couldn't even twitch my arm, until Genkai-oban healed it. She said that only _that lush_ could heal my arm in this condition."

"Genkai-sama is a very capable healer, and the repairs done to your arm are above even what I could do. She was right, Naruto-kun, the only person I know of that could heal you is Tsunade-sama," Shizune informed Naruto as she healed his hand before helping him reapply the bandages and the seals.

"Great." he said sarcastically.

"She really isn't that bad..." Shizune pleaded. At Naruto's pointed look, she desperately tried to convince him of the fact. "Honestly. It's just that she's worked so hard and lost so much..."

"She's a ninja. She should 'deal with it'," Naruto spitefully replied, which Shizune winced at. "Gomen... I shouldn't take it out on you..."

"It's all right... Jiraiya-sama said you've been through a lot lately," replied Shizune encouragingly.

"So why are you here anyway?" asked Naruto.

"I wanted to make sure you'd be all right, for one," Shizune said, "And to try an convince you not to think too poorly of Tsunade-sama."

Naruto sighed. "It's not like she hasn't given me plenty of reason."

"I know, but you must understand, Tsunade-sama has worked harder than anyone to improve her skills in the medical field. She worked diligently to be the absolute best in her field and even then it wasn't enough." Shizune sadly informed him. "It doesn't help that you seem to be so much like them."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto as he applied the final seal to his arm.

"I suppose it all goes back to the curse on her grandfather's necklace," replied Shizune.

"A curse?" asked Naruto skeptically.

"I don't entirely believe it myself, Naruto-kun, but Tsunade-sama does and that is an important detail for what I am about to tell you. Tsunade-sama is the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage and the necklace she wears is one of the most priceless artifacts in not just Konoha, but in all of the Elemental Countries. It was entrusted to her by her grandfather just before his death," Shizune stated, "It wasn't long after that Tsunade's brother, Nawaki, stated his intentions to become Hokage. After telling her why he wanted to become Hokage, she gifted him with the Shodai's charm. He was killed in an ambush the very next day. There was nothing they could do. From what I heard long ago, his reasons for being Hokage weren't too far different from yours."

"You said them..." said Naruto quietly.

"Hai..." said Shizune hesitantly. "When Nawaki died, a part of Tsunade-sama died with him. She threw herself into her work, diligently improving her skills to be far superior to any other in her field- not that she had very many equals. At this point she was already a legend, not only as a ninja, but as a healer. It was during this time that she met a certain fellow Jounin, a man by the name of Dan, who was also my Uncle and last remaining relative. It wasn't long before they had fallen in love. I'm not sure if they were ever formally engaged, Tsunade-sama rarely speaks of him anymore. It's too painful for her."

Naruto felt as if his the entirety of his insides were turned into solid lead. "What... What happened?"

"He too stated his intentions to become Hokage," stated Shizune, "Though I am unsure why. Perhaps he wanted to help Tsunade-sama honor her otouto's memory in some way. For Tsunade-sama, it was like a little bit of her brother still lived. She loved my uncle so deeply that she would do anything within her power to see him succeed and become Hokage, she even gifted him with the same charm she had given Nawaki-chan."

"He... He died, didn't he?" asked Naruto solemnly.

"H-hai..." It took a moment for Shizune to gather her thoughts and composure. "Although this time, it was far worse."

"How?"

"It was only a few days later and they were both sent out on a mission," replied Shizune, "It had been far easier than expected and they were on their way back to the village when it happened. They were ambushed. The attack was repulsed, but Dan-otooji was mortally wounded saving Tsunade-sama. She did all she could to save him, but his wounds were too great. Afterwards she could only think of all the blood in the area. The ground was soaked red and she was covered in it. All of it was his. She quit being a full-time healer and active duty Shinobi after that mission, because she developed a severe case of hemophobia."

"Hemo-whatta?" asked Naruto dumbly.

"Hemophobia, fear of blood,"explained Shizune, "Tsunade-sama was never the same and it's only gotten worse as the years have gone by."

"Well then... I guess there's only one thing I can do..." said Naruto as he stood up. Shizune looked a bit nervous as she stood with him.

"What is that, Naruto-kun?"

"Give her something to believe in again," said Naruto looking her straight in the eye.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tsunade and Jiraiya had went further down the street to yet another bar.

"I didn't expect him to lose it like that," said Jiraiya apologetically. "When I first saw him, it was like looking at a smaller version of Arashi. While I was training him, it was like watching Kushina train. Hearing him speak of his dreams, it reminded me a lot of your brother when he would come around."

"Which is why you brought him with you," Tsunade stated. Jiraiya remained silent as confirmation wasn't needed.

"There's a war coming Tsunade and Naruto is not only going to be Konoha's hope, but possible the hope of the entire Elemental Countries."

"You sound rather confident in him," noted Tsunade as she sipped on her drink.

"Like I said, he's a special kid," said Jiraiya, "He reminds me so much of myself sometimes it's kind of scary. Yet, he's different too. Everything I've ever worked for... Everything his father sought to accomplish... To succeed where even Nagato failed... If there is anyone who could do it, it's Naruto."

"Perhaps... But I say it's still a little premature to place all your hopes onto that kid," Tsunade compromised, "Especially a kid with a dream like his. It's only going to get him killed."

"Still haven't managed to let go I see..." said Jiraiya sadly.

"And what would you know of it?" asked Tsunade bitingly.

"More than you realize," Jiraiya answered, as he stood and paid the tab."More than you'll ever realize."

Tsunade was unsettled by the look he gave her, but she remained seated where she was nursing her sake. She had a lot to think about.


End file.
